“Getting To The Root Issue!”
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Good morning, turn with me to Luke chapter 3. As you are making your way there last week we really set the picture for all that is beginning to take place in John’s ministry as he is preparing people to meet Christ. As the word of God came to John, John’s message would be bold and forceful as he called people to repent of their sin and turn to Christ for salvation.
Church, repentance is at the core or very heart of the Gospel. As the Holy Spirit begins to works in the hearts and lives of people, God’s spirit brings to mind how serious and offensive our sin truly is, and the need to turn to Jesus to save us. It is impossible to explain to our friends and family the good news of Jesus without telling them about repentance.
We are living in a day and age where there are many churches and pastors who are afraid of being bold in the pulpit. Many churches have watered down the gospel or do not even teach the word of God any longer. What we see happening in John’s time is what we see today. There are many folks who think they know Jesus, but have never turned from their sin and followed Christ. Repentance. Let me ask you 2 questions.
-Do you profess to know Christ? Good, because this is exactly what John’s message is about. For those who profess Christ, you will begin to bear fruit in your life at some point.
-Are you following Him? Not perfectly, but you have a desire to love the Lord and obey His commands.
John was bold in his preaching, but even though many came to be baptized by him there was no genuine repentance. This is why John get’s to the root issue. Luke chapter 3 and we will begin in verse 7.
7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
Here in our text this morning there are 4 specific callings that were part of John’s message that we must see.
1. The Call for Boldness.
1. The Call for Boldness.
7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
As many of you have read through the Gospels you may have noticed the similarities in much of the narrative. There is little difference between what we see here in verses 7-9 of Lukes Gospel account and that of Matthews in 3:7-10. What we see here is that there were large crowds, including a large number of Pharisees and Sadducees, who were coming out to the wilderness to be baptized by John. John however knew that many of these leaders who desired baptism were insincere. Notice here that John does not choose to use friendly or encouraging words to begin his message this day. In fact, what we see here is a call to be bold. John here calls out and confronts the religious leaders of his time. John was bold enough to call some in this crowd, “a brood of vipers.” I think most of us in the room are familiar with snakes, or have seen a snake. Out north of town we generally get rattle snakes from time to time in our back yard. I do not like snakes weather they are big or small I am not a fan. So, clearly John would have been familiar with snakes living out in the wilderness. The statement that John issues here has the meaning that these deceptive religious leaders came out to hear John, but were not truly interested in changing anything about their character which resembled vipers or snakes. What John is doing here is identifying these leaders with their father who was Satan himself. Here is how Jesus explains it to them in the gospel of John chapter 8.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The Devil is a murderer. He hates anything that resembles what is true like the truth of God’s Word. Like the sanctity of human life. Like godly families. Like meeting together for church on Sunday’s. Satan is against all of these things. John 8 also tells us that he is a liar. Remember back in the garden where Satan disguised himself to Eve as a serpent and tricked her into sinning against God? God’s word shows us that Satan is a serpent. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. These religious rulers were sneaky, vicious, hostile and poisonous in their nature because they were children of the devil. I tell you this today because there may come times where your words or message is unpopular to those you speak too. Of course we are to speak truth in love and not out of anger or hate. We should not be cocky, rude or arrogant with our words, however we should be bold as we proclaim the truth of what God has given to us through His very words.
2. The Call to Bear Fruit.
2. The Call to Bear Fruit.
8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
What we see here is that there were some people who were coming to John who thought they were converted because of some self-righteous act that they had done. They thought that they were even saved because they were relying on their linage from Abraham. Just because they belonged to Abraham did not guarantee their salvation. This would be like folks who think because their grandmother was a Christian they are a Christian. There are many people today who go to church and claim to be Christians, however there is no change in their lives. There must be that inward change which then shows itself outwardly by God-honoring fruit. Paul mentions what kind of fruit this should like like in Galatians chapter 5. Those who are Christians and have a love for God begin to see fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, and even being self-controlled. Ask yourself today are these fruit present in my life?
Sincere, genuine repentance will of course show itself by a change of attitude and behavior. This of course is why John states here that those folks who are coming out to the wilderness to be baptized show that they are truly changed or have truly repented of their sin by bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. Luke also mentions this in the book of Acts.
20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.
John is simply stating here that if you are truly saved or have truly repented, you will begin to show some fruit that comes from truly repenting of your sin. This means your life is a changed life. It is different.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
John was not saying that the fruit or “works” will save us. He is saying that if your faith is real, if your conversion is genuine, then you can’t help but have fruit. People can not earn salvation by good works. This is clearly stated in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9. However, clearly good works are the inevitable result of true repentance.
Has there come a time in your life where you have truly repented of your sin and turned toward Christ?
3. The Call to Warn others of God’s Wrath.
3. The Call to Warn others of God’s Wrath.
7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
We now come to John’s warning. Not only does John ask who warned you to flee from the wrath to come, but he also explains what this looks like. The ax is laid at the root of the trees. In other words judgement is at hand. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. The trees here in verse 9 are symbolic of people who have not truly repented. There is no fruit on their tree. Eventually they are cut down and thrown into the fire. This is the fire of hell.
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
This warning that John explains is the wrath that is to come for those who are not truly repentant over their sin. Church there should come a time where we fear God’s wrath. Why is that? When we fear God and the wrath to come it should cause us to take a look within our hearts and lives and to turn from the wicked sinful things that are there and trust in God. John is specifically talking here about the wrath of hell. Hell is always an offensive message to our human nature because we have a tendency to think that we are pretty good people. This message that John is speaking too is a difficult message but it is not a new message. Over and over again in the Old Testament we see God’s prophets warning the people of God’s impending wrath to come.
Often times throughout Scripture we see mention of the “Day of the Lord.” “The Day of Vengeance.” These are speaking of God’s wrath to come. Even Jesus himself spoke about hell. In fact Christ spoke more on hell than he did of heaven.
12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.
9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
It is the duty of every Christian to warn others about what is to come. We live in a time where there are many people who say that we need to be compassionate to sinners and I would agree with that statement. However, the most compassionate thing that we can do as believers is in love, warn them of God’s eternal judgment that is to come. Don’t continue in sin. Don’t wait. Turn to God today! There is a sense of urgency church. We must proclaim the good news of the gospel so that people can understand their sin, but also see that there is a Savior who can forgive them and set them free.
4. The Call to Action.
4. The Call to Action.
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
We now come to the personal application of John’s message. John’s message has caused some to take a look at their lives and question am i truly repentant? What specific actions need to happen in my life? What should reveal the genuine character of their salvation?
Notice here that there are three different groups of people who ask John the same question.
Verse 10-11 = The Crowds. “What then shall we do?”
Verse 12-13 = The Tax Collectors. “What shall we do?”
Verse 14 = The Soldiers. “And we, what shall we do?”
All three groups seem to have a sense of guilt by the questions they ask. What they have come to realize is that true salvation comes from a sorrow over sin and forsaking the old way of life.
1. The first group here is the crowd. The crowds ask John, “what then shall we do?” John here tells them to share their clothes and food with those who are in need. Those who have two shirts, give the one to those who have none. The same is expected for food. As believers let’s not be a people who refuse to share or are stingy with our stuff. As we see others who may be struggling, look for opportunities to assist others.
2. The second group is the tax collectors. During this time the tax collectors had their booths set up all over. However the main tax offices were located at Caesarea, Capernaum, and Jericho. The tax collectors of this time had a terrible reputation of being extortionist. If the tax collector was a Jew they would have been known as a renegade or a traitor because they were serving and working for the foreign oppressor. These tax collectors knew that they had been taking in more money than what was required. They were guilt stricken and asked John what shall we do? John’s answer was simple, “don’t take more than is appointed to you. If you are truly repentant than be honest with others, and treat them fairly.
3. Finally, we come to the third group which is the soldiers. Here we see that there are those who are doing military service. Some of these soldiers could have been under Herod or where even Jewish soldiers we are not for certain. They ask the same question the other groups have asked. “What shall we do?” Notice the first thing that John explains to them is that they were not to take money from others by threats. This means don’t be forceful or use your power to take someone’s money. The second thing John confronts them about is don’t take others money by false accusations. Don’t use your authority to falsely say things in order to get money. Finally, John tells these soldiers to be content with their wages. They didn’t need anything else besides what was promised to them by serving as soldiers.
All of these answers show genuine love and true repentance. Clearly, none of these things that John mentions here save us. The Root of the Matter is not what shall we do, but what Christ has done for us. When we understand this, we will have a love for Christ and a desire to take action and put these principles that John lays out into practice.
If you are not a Christian today, repent of your sin and turn to Christ.
If you are a Christian, continue to have a love for Christ and follow Him by practicing the fruit of the Spirit.
(Pray)
(Turn things over to Adam for Communion)