Repentence Equals Righteous Fruit to God's Glory

The Danger of Becoming Complacent with Blessings

One of the big problems in life today is what’s called complacency. You know… where you get used to the way things are and not really interested in doing anything better or different? That place, where we all get in life at some point, where change is the enemy and I just like my life the way it is… I don’t want anything to change.

I’m going to say, rather bluntly, that’s a dangerous state of mind.

To live your life without any desire to grow, to change, or to look past current seasons, current failures or pains; to only be who you are today… that is a dangerous state of mind.

Because, when it is happens outside of your control… you’re not prepared.

Warren Wiersbe, God Isn't In a Hurry,

I have felt for a long time that one of the particular temptations of the maturing Christian is the danger of getting accustomed to his blessings. Like the world traveler who has been everywhere and seen everything, the maturing Christian is in danger of taking his blessings for granted and getting so accustomed to them that they fail to excite him as they once did.

Emerson said that if the stars came out only once a year, everybody would stay up all night to behold them. We have seen the stars so often that we don't bother to look at them anymore. We have grown accustomed to our blessings.

The Israelites in the wilderness got accustomed to their blessings, and God had to chasten the people. God had fed the nation with heavenly manna each morning, and yet the people were getting tired of it. "But now our whole being is dried up," they said, "there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!" (Numbers 11:6).

Nothing but manna! They were experiencing a miracle of God's provision every morning; yet they were no longer excited about it. Nothing but manna!

One of the evidences that we have grown accustomed to our blessings is this spirit of criticism and complaining. Instead of thanking God for what we have, we complain about it and tell him we wish we had something else. You can be sure that if God did give us what we asked for, we would eventually complain about that. The person who has gotten accustomed to his blessing can never be satisfied.

Another evidence of this malady is the idea that others have a better situation than we do. The Israelites remembered their diet in Egypt and longed to return to the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. They were saying, "The people in Egypt are so much better off than we are!" Obviously, they had forgotten the slavery they had endured in Egypt and the terrible bondage from which God had delivered them. Slavery is a high price to pay for a change in diet.

Last week we also saw another aspect of the people of Israel when they got a little bit complacent with their blessing. Or, they took their heritage for granted. We saw that John's baptism and his message were both a call to repentance, which means a call for people to stop relying on anything they are by birth or have achieved by their effort, and a turning to rely on the free mercy of God. This came out most clearly in verse 8 where John says to Jews who were prone to rely on their Jewishness, "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 to Abraham."

Some Jews had the mistaken notion that God's promise to be faithful to the seed of Abraham guaranteed their salvation no matter what. But John calls them sons of the devil (vipers, v. 7) instead of sons of Abraham and says: Yes God will be faithful to Abraham's seed, but your pride has blinded you to who Abraham's seed really are—they are not every single physical descendant, but are people who, like Abraham, repent and bear the fruits worthy of repentance. God can create people like that out of these stones and leave you to judgment, and yet still be faithful to his promises.

God Is Free In His Mercy and Power

These words were the seeds of a theology that came to full flower in Paul's letter to the Romans and to the Galatians. Let me just read a few of the key texts. In Romans 4:11, 12 Paul argues that the reason God promised a blessing to Abraham and justified him by faith before he was circumcised was this:

Romans 4:11-12

Romans 4:11–12 ESV

He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Then in Romans 4:16, 17 Paul says that the promise to Abraham's seed depends on faith in order that it might rest on grace so that the promise might be sure for all the descendants,

Romans 4:16-17

Romans 4:16–17 ESV

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

Then in Galatians 3:7 Paul says,

Galatians 3:7 ESV

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

and in verse 29, "If you are Christ's then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise."

So when John warns the crowds not to rely on their Jewishness and says, "God can raise up from these stones sons of Abraham," he meant God's mercy is so pure that he can make out of anybody a son of Abraham. Jewishness is no guarantee, and non-Jewishness is no hindrance. The way to forgiveness of sins is open to all, Jew and Gentile, by the same road—the road of repentance. Which means anybody who turns from trusting in human distinctives and hopes in the free mercy of God alone will be saved from the impending wrath through the forgiveness of their sins.

Righteous Fruit of the Gospel

Evidently John's preaching gets through, and the people start repenting, turning afresh to God's mercy rather than their own race or works. Now the question arises how such people live. Is there a distinctive lifestyle that grows out of relying on mercy alone? Let's read Luke 3:10–20.

What sort of things does a person who is happily relying on God's free mercy do and not do? Luke gives Theophilus a few examples here from John's preaching. I’d like to start this morning by going a little out of order. Let’s start with the last paragraph. Verse 18: "So with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people."

Luke regards John's message as gospel or good news, even though it contained warnings of fiery judgment and numerous commands for a giving lifestyle. I mention this so that we won't be too strict or narrow in our definition of the gospel. John did not yet know as much as we now know about how God would purchase forgiveness of sins through Christ's death, but let's not exclude what he did know about the good news that was breaking into the world already.

1.) It’s Good News to Speak Truth - For example, if someone was to wake you up at 2 AM, out of a dead sleep, and told you your house was on fire, but there is still time to get out… you just had to follow them; would you see that as a bad thing?

Unfortunately, many do. Even in the church today. We have to water down our message and not speak on offensive things because they may be… well, offensive. But, John here already knows that the gospel message must always contain a warning of God’s wrath: “The chaff will burn with the unquenchable fire.”

2.) That Truth is the Free mercy of God which is the way to be forgiven of our sin - What terrible news it would be if John came preaching: Jews can be saved, but not Gentiles. Or: well-to-do people can be saved, but not poor folk. Or: white people can be saved, but not Indians or black people. Or: you can be saved if on the judgment day your good works outweigh your bad works. All that would be bad news. But for John the way is open for "all flesh" to have the salvation of God (3:6), because no human distinctive whatsoever is a precondition of God's mercy. His mercy runs ahead of all our efforts and seizes us before we know it. And the good news is: just rest in this mercy and you will be saved.

3.) It is Good to Change the Way We Live - Verse 18: "With many exhortations he preached good news." If we are saved by relying solely on God's mercy, why is it such good news to be told things we should do to change the way we live?

Two reasons at least: one is that since there is a kind of fruit that testifies to the health of a tree, we can reassure ourselves that we are a born-again tree by whether we are following these exhortations, that is, bearing good fruit. As 1 John 2:3 says,

1 John 2:3 ESV

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

So the exhortations of Scripture are good news because they help us know if we are born of God. If we fail to meet the test of self-examination, they send us flying to the mercy of God for forgiveness and help. The other reason exhortations are good news is that the way of obedience is the way of joy. There is more lasting joy in doing what God says (no matter how hard) than in all the ways of sin. So exhortations are part of the gospel also because they point us along the way of greatest fulfillment and joy in this life and the next.

Righteous Fruit of God First in Love and Money

In a moment we will look at verses 10–14 in detail, but notice now that all the exhortations here have to do with money or possessions. For example, the last part of verse 14 reads: "Rob no one by violence or false accusation and be content with your wages." This is very similar to what the writer of Hebrews speaks of in Hebrews 13:5:

Hebrews 13:5 ESV

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

And then in verses 19 and 20 Luke tells us that one of the other issues John addressed was marriage. "Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison." Herod was living in an adulterous relationship with his brother's wife, and John reproved him for it.

It's no accident, I think, that again and again in Scripture the love of money and the abuse of sexual relations are reproved, because these are such primal, deeply rooted forces in the human heart that they are the hardest to transform. Yet they must be transformed in a manner which puts God first in all of our relationships; whether it is money or marriage. God first isn’t just a Christian slogan or bumper sticker, it is central to being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Adolph Menzel created a painting titled Frederick the Great’s Address to His Generals Before the Battle of Leuthen. This historical piece depicts Frederick’s speech to his generals in December 1757 during the Seven Years’ War before their famous battle in Silesia against the Austrians.

Menzel worked on it from 1859-1861, but never finished it. The monumental painting contains the background and the generals standing in a semi-circle, but the main figure of Frederick the Great was left blank. Menzel’s famous painting is a picture of many lives. The background of career, interests, pursuits and achievement is complete. The faces of significant people like family, friends and colleagues surround. But the central and most important figure is left incomplete—Jesus. Jesus Christ has been given a name that is above all others and rightly deserves to be the focal point of our lives. Likewise, the centrality of Christ in life is the greatest need of every person. May we never foolishly allow Him to be a blank figure in the midst of our lives.

Righteous Fruit of a Repentant Life

Let's look now at verses 10–14. In verse 8 John says, "Bear fruits that befit repentance," and in verse 10 the crowds asked, "What then shall we do?' That is, what are the fruits that befit repentance? We need to keep clear, as we look at these sample exhortations to the crowds, the tax collectors, and the soldiers, that John is giving examples of fruits that befit repentance. That is, he is showing the kind of fruit (or lifestyle) that inevitably grows on the tree of repentance. Genuine repentance is of the nature that it produces these sorts of attitudes and actions. And keep in mind what repentance is: a turning from reliance on human traits and works, to a reliance on God's mercy for our security and joy and hope.

First, notice the three groups which Luke refers to. The "multitudes" in verse 10, the "tax collectors" in verse 12, and the "soldiers" in verse 14. Why not mention the fishermen, carpenters, lawyers, etc.? Surely in that "multitude" there were other professions. By choosing these particular groups John is making an example out of them.... namely because these three groups were hostile to each other. The "multitudes" were ordinary Jewish people for the most part, but the tax collectors were viewed as greedy Jewish turncoats who used their (already despised) relation with Rome to line their own pockets; and the soldiers probably included Gentiles, but in any case they represented the pagan Roman overlords. Here they all are with the same question: "What shall we do?" They are all now on the same ground, and they are needy. When a person turns to rely on God's mercy, he can no longer hate his neighbor. It is psychologically impossible to cherish the mercy God has shown to us and at the same time refuse to show it to another. Therefore one of the fruits that befits repentance is growing unity. Repentance penetrates the ramparts that separate classes and races and cliques. Therefore the church, of all institutions, should be free of cliques of people which are uninviting to outsiders.

So what does change when a tax collector and a soldier stop relying on money and power and prestige and start relying on God's mercy for forgiveness and hope?

Before we get to that… let’s first list the three exhortations John gives to the three groups. To the multitude (v. 11): "He who has two coats let him share with him who has none; and he who has food let him do likewise." To the tax collectors (v. 13): "Collect no more than is appointed to you." To the soldiers (v. 14): "Don't shake down anybody or extort money by false accusations. Be content with your wages."

When you think of all the hundreds of exhortations John could have given (and may have given) and all the exhortations Luke could have recorded, it is astonishing that in all three cases John refers to their possessions: their things and their money. We are going to see it again and again in Luke's gospel (and remember it is part of the good news) that faith in God, reliance on his mercy, hope in his promises changes how we handle our money and our possessions. There is one fundamental reason for that: "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also" (Luke 12:34). You can tell where a man's heart is resting by the way he handles his money and by the attitude he has toward his possessions. If his heart is resting in the mercy of the all-sufficient God, then he will have the lifestyle John is exhorting here in verses 10–14.

Notice the difference between the word to the crowds on the one hand and to the tax collectors and soldiers on the other. The crowds are told to give away part of what they have: if you have clothing and food and someone you can help doesn't, share it. But the tax collectors and soldiers are told not to take more than what they are supposed to. Be content with what you have. The reason for this difference is probably that when addressing a crowd, you don't know what the specific professions represented and the temptations that go with them are; so you aim at the general opportunities for compassion and benevolence where all of us can bear the fruit of sacrificial generosity. But when you are addressing a specific profession that is notorious for a specific abuse, you put your finger right on it and show them that it does not produce righteous fruit that glorifies God.

The temptation was the same for both professions, namely, to use their power to indulge their love of money by exploiting other people. Why is this contrary to humble reliance on the mercy of God? Two reasons: one, hankering after more money reveals an insecurity and discontentment that you don't have if you are stretched out like a little baby in the arms of your Father's mercy.

Remember Hebrews 13:5. "Be content with what you have, for I will never leave you nor forsake you." The other reason that exploiting others to get more money is contrary to reliance on God's mercy is because it is unmerciful. If we really trust in God's mercy to save us and help us at all times, then we value mercy, we cherish it. But if you really love mercy then you will live mercy. A life that glorifies God is a life that continually repents of our worldliness (money/possessions) and practices mercy.

And so, negatively, the unrighteous fruit that does not glorify God is the exploitation of anyone to get more money or things. And, positively, the righteous fruit that glorifies God is the willingness to give of our food and clothing and money to those who have need.

I close with two thoughts in this area.

1) We must live in a continual state of repentance that seeks to be obedient to God’s leading, guidance and Word. The fruits of this life are much more valuable and blessed that one that is complacent in the money and possessions in which one may trust in more than God’s Will.

2.) That will require a great deal of thought and prayer and openness to change. To believe that we can do this according to our own strength only leads us back to John’s warning to not rely on your own self-aggrandizement, but to fully trust in your Father in heaven.

Complacency is a dangerous state of mind. Being spirit-led is an obedient state of the soul.