Sermon Tone Analysis

Our text this morning is take from Luke 3:1-18:

May God bless this, the reading of His holy and infallible Word.

The tone of what you say is often more important than the words that you say.

For example:

[Compassionately] “You brood of vipers.

Who warned you of the wrath to come?”

[Angerly] “You brood of vipers.

Who warned you of the wrath to come?”

I just spoke the same words, but I communicated something totally different by the tone I used.

We cannot travel back in time and hear the tone of Johns preaching with our ears, but we can hear the tone of his preaching if we would take the time to look at the text carefully.

I have entitled my message today, Good News for Vipers, because John’s message was a Gospel message—it was as vs. 18 says “good news”.

To help you to hear the tone of John’s preaching, I have divided my message up in three parts:

John’s Message

God’s Grace

Your Response

We begin with John’s message:

John’s Message

We find a summary of John’s message in Luke 3:3, “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”.

In Luke 3:18, we learn that this message was “good news”.

This may come as a surprise to many people, because his message hardly sounds like “good news”.

Take Luke 3:7, for example, “You brood of vipers!

Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” John is comparing the crowds coming to him to desert vipers fleeing out of their holes in order to escape a wildfire.

This sounds like a message designed to drive people away from God, rather than draw them in.

Using today’s terms, it was not “seeker friendly”.

However, upon more careful reflection it is “good news” to those who realize they are vipers!

John’s message is providing a way of escape for those who realize they are in danger of God’s judgement; it is a message of “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”.

To understand John’s message, we need to understand what “vipers”, “baptism” and “repentance” means.

First, “vipers”: To those steeped in the Old Testament, as John and his original audience were, a “viper” was an offspring or seed of Satan, the great Serpent of Genesis 3. Jesus made it clear that those who did not trust and obey the covenant were not children of Abraham, but rather children of Satan.

This is confirmed by the fact that these people submitted to be baptized.

John’s baptism was not a New Covenant baptism, rather it was an Old Covenant proselyte baptism that was administered to Gentile who were not members of the covenant.

Those who came to John understood that they were covenant breakers, not better than Gentiles, in fact, “vipers”, that is children of Satan!

Biblically, repentance means changing direction.

These people realized that they were headed in the wrong direction—they were heading into the flames of God’s wrath and judgement!

Then something happened, they realized they were heading in the wrong direction.

When John asked those coming to him, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”, he was not throwing rhetorical stones at them, he was wanting them to realize that God’s grace was at work in their lives.

This brings us to the second point:

God’s Grace

Most people readily admit that they sin from time to time, few however, admit (or even realize) that they are spiritual and moral vipers.

Scripture teaches that after the Fall, all humanity has a natural disposition is to sin.

This is what Paul means when he says we are “dead in our trespasses and sins”.

To illustrate this, let me use my own conversion as an example: I grew up in the church.

There, I was taught what sin was and realized I did sin.

Moreover, if there were any doubts in my mind that I had sinned, my parents reminded me with their spankings!

In third grade, I received a “U” (that is unacceptable) all four quarters for “behavior”!

Then one day in the spring of my fifth grade in school, I betrayed a friend.

God used that event to change my life forever.

By mid-summer, I understood that I was not just a person who sinned, but I was a sinner by nature—a viper!

That summer, I professed Christ as my Lord and Savior.

Looking back, there is no doubt in my mind that I was saved by the sovereign power of God!

Consider your own life, and if you are a Christian your own conversion.

Do you not see the hand of God in it?

The working of God for our salvation is what the Bible calls grace.

We can’t earn grace, we can’t control grace, and most certainly we cannot manufacture grace.

In John 3, Jesus compares the working of God in conversion to the wind.

The Wind of God is blowing here this morning as I preach the Word.

It is not because of me, but because the Word I proclaim is God’s Word.

The Apostle Paul says the Gospel is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

This brings us to you and the final point:

Your Response

Hearing John’s message, the people asked him, “What then shall we do?”

We find his answer in Luke 3:11-14:

This sounds a lot like earning your salvation, but this is not at all what John meant.

We know this because earlier he said:

Fruit is the product of a healthy tree; it is NOT the CAUSE of a healthy tree.

The reason John says the axe is already at the roots of the trees is because they are unhealthy.

As we have already seen, Israel was spiritually unhealthy.

If John’s message consisted only of this fact, his message would be bad news; but this was not all he preached.

He preached a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”.

Repentance is a message of hope, because by God’s grace and power you can change directions.

What I just said is so important, that I want to make sure you do not miss it.

Look again at what John is saying in vs. 8.

He warns the Jews not to presume they are OK with God because they are children of Abraham.

Most people in America today we claim to be a Christian are just as presumptuous.

They stay things such as:

“I grew up in a Christian home.”

“I belong to the Church.”

“I am basically a good person.”

Presumptuous religion depends upon oneself rather than God.

True religion depends depend upon the power of God.

A power so great, it can turn stones into children!

So, the time of decision has come.

Do you not hear the voice of one crying in the wilderness?

Will you flee to Christ or will you presumptuously remain in your viper den?

As you ponder that question, I want to read to you the words of our closing hymn.

They perfectly sum up what true faith and repentance really are:

Verse 1

Come ye sinners poor and needy

Weak and wounded sick and sore

Jesus ready stands to save you

Full of pity, love and power

Verse 2

Come ye thirsty come and welcome

God's free bounty glorify

True belief and true repentance

Every grace that brings you nigh

Verse 3

Let not conscience make you linger

Nor of fitness fondly dream

All the fitness He requireth

Is to feel your need of Him