Luke 3:7-9
"Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire," Luke 3:7-9.
John the Baptist was a man that preached what God gave him to preach. He was not concerned with what the world thought of him. He was not influenced by the who's who of his time. John's drive and desire was to please the One who sent him. Who sent John? The One True and living God sent him. God sent John with a message. John preached the baptism of repentance. This baptism proclaimed that the Jew being baptized was no better than Gentiles in their spiritual state. The preaching of John took down every obstacle that the Jewish religion had put up for salvation. The Saviour is for all men. The religious leaders had taken the Law and added men's traditions to it and in doing so made road blocks and other obstacles to keep people from truly trusting the coming Saviour. The preaching of John the Baptist leveled the playing field. No one was exempt from coming to the Saviour, and all were commanded to come to the Saviour for salvation. There is not a way of salvation for the Jews, and a different way of salvation for the Gentiles. There has always only been one way to God, and that is believing by faith the promise of God (Ephesians 2:11-22). "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd," John 10:16.
John preached what God gave him to preach, and he preached it with power. We mentioned this a little last week. John was separate from the world. He was not influenced by the political or religious system of his day. He preached truth. Though all this is good, this is not where his power with God came from. Turn to I Peter 5:1-7; James 4:6-10. "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake," Psalm 115:1. God did not put power on John's preaching to exalt John. John was not concerned with being popular among men. This is summed up by what he said in John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Without this everything that John would have done and said would have been vanity, foolish, and useless. "As a preacher I know this: whenever eloquence is more important than the words spoken there is no power," Paul Washer. John made much about Jesus Christ, and made nothing of himself. "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise," II Corinthians 10:12. When given the opportunity to exalt himself, John did not (John 1:19-23). One little self-exaltation and John could have had power with men, but none with God. John's life did not mess up the message God gave him to proclaim, no matter how popular he was among the people. How popular was John the Baptist? Multitudes were coming to him. Let us look at verses 7-9.
Who was John speaking to, and what was he saying? Multitudes were coming to John to hear him preach, and to be baptized. John did not have a youtube channel. He wasn't on social media of any kind. He wasn't handing out t-shirts, bumper stickers, putting up signs in yards; no lights, no bands of any kind, no, he was simply preaching what God gave him to preach. No spin, no emotionalism, no clever tactics, just preaching truth. He was on fire for the Lord, and multitudes came to watch him burn. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid," Matthew 5:14.
Word about John had spread throughout all Israel. Multitudes were coming. Some were being obedient from a heart that was truly repentant, others were just jumping on the band wagon for a brief ride. This has always been the case when there is a move of God on a place and a people. There will always be tares mixed in with the wheat in the visible church. God knows them that are truly His. This is who John was preaching to, and this is part of the message he was preaching. Some who came were the religious elites. John pointed them out, and in doing so would cause the whole multitude to examine themselves.
John calls them "O generation of vipers." "He gives them this name, instead of simply calling them vipers, in order to expose the envenomed malice of the whole class: for he intended to condemn, not merely those few persons who were present, but the whole body, and charge both sects with producing nothing but serpents." John Calvin. The teaching that was proclaimed and received was deadly poison. The religious leaders of that day did not see a need to repent. In their own eyes they were in good shape because they were not like the Gentile sinners, and they were natural descendants of Abraham. This is also the mindset that the multitudes adopted. They did not see a need to repent. Repent from what, and for what? They viewed themselves as being fine just like they are.
A result of God saving our souls is that we will produce good works for the glory of God (James 2). These religious crowds had formulated a check list religion that made them feel great about their religious activities, but their hearts were full of sin! All that they did was to look good in the eyes of others. They would spend their whole life pleasing themselves and pleasing others, but in the end they would be chopped down and thrown into the fire! How terrible would it be to live your whole life convinced you are right with God only to stand before Him and hear Him say, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Depart! Depart! Depart! What dreadful words to hear from Jesus Christ. But, dear one, you are still here. You are not yet standing in front of Christ. Please take heed to the message. Repent from your sins and turn to Jesus Christ! Trust Christ apart from any kind of works for salvation. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out," John 6:37.
God gives us space and time to repent, please do not put it off. Look unto Jesus Christ and be ye saved. For those of us whom the Lord has already saved, make sure we are proclaiming Christ to the world, not a preacher, not a church, and surely not ourselves.
Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
