Bear Fruits
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
A drunkard husband, spending the evening with his jovial companions at a tavern, boasted that if he should take a group of his friends home with him at midnight and ask his Christian wife to get up and cook supper for them, she would do it without complaint.
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The crowd considered it a vain boast and dared him to try it by a considerable wager.
So the drunken crowd went home with him and he made the unreasonable demands of his wife.
She obeyed, dressed, came down, and prepared a very nice supper just as quickly as possible and served it as cheerfully as if she had been expect ing them.
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After supper one of the men, a little more sober than the others, asked how she could be so kind when they had been so unreasonable, and, too, they knew she did not approve of their conduct.
Her reply was:
“Sir, when my husband and I were married, we were both sinners.
It has pleased God to call me out of that dangerous condition.
My husband continues in it.
I tremble for his future state.
Were he to die as he is, he would be miserable forever; I think it my duty to render his present existence as comfortable as possible.”
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This wise and faithful reply affected the whole company.
The husband thanked her for the warning and became a serious Christian and a good husband.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 3 and focus on verses 7 through 14.
Our message this morning is called, “Bear Fruits”
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As you are finding your place in God’s Word...
I would like to share that this message will focus on what a true believer looks like...
Like we saw with our opening illustration...
A true follower of Christ has come to realize the helpless state they were in...
Truly repented and surrendered to the Lord...
And ultimately bears the fruit of good works...
Like serving a person who treats you cruelly...
Like showing kindness to someone who intends to humiliate you.
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Our passage today has three main points...
The Requirement...
The Question...
And...
The Answer.
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Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
Thank you for being the ultimate model of the perfect father...
You are good...
You are kind...
You are all powerful...
You are all knowing...
And you are slow to anger.
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So, help us and guide us...
Reveal any hidden sin in our lives...
Open our eyes to see You more clearly...
Keep us on the narrow road..
And for Your lost sheep...
Open their eye so they can know You too.
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Thank you for sending your Son to take the place of us who are wicked and wretched sinners...
Thank you for loving you enemies...
Thank you for not giving us what we deserve...
And thank you for being You.
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
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.”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Requirement
1) The Requirement
Verses 7-9: 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? 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. 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.”
John the Baptist opens our passage with powerful words that too many religious leaders today are afraid to repeat...
They are shocking...
And they are bold...
But they are biblical...
And they are true.
So, let’s break this apart and see what we can learn from this.
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The phrase “You brood of vipers!” seems to be directed at the crowd...
Yet in the same account in Matthew’s Gospel we see that John seems to be directing this to the Pharisees and Sadducees since Matthew 3:7 says:
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
So, with is it?
Well, the answer is both...
New Testament scholar Darrell Bock shares some great insight on how to interpret this properly:
“Matthew 3:7 mentions that John specifically addressed the Sadducees and Pharisees.
Some regard Luke as expanding the audience, a point that is possible...
Fitzmyer argues that a broad audience fits the Lucan emphasis that the message is for all.
Marshall, however, observes that Matthew tends to single out the Pharisees and Sadducees for criticism...
So, it is hard to be certain who beyond them may be in view.
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The situation itself is clear enough when one looks at Matthew’s wording.
Matthew 3:7 says that John looked to the Pharisees and Sadducees as he spoke.
One has the impression that John spoke to the crowd but focused on the Pharisees and Sadducees as he made his remarks.
Or perhaps the remarks came correctly to be regarded as appropriate for the leadership, given their lack of response.
What John said was said to all, as Luke notes, while Matthew points out that the religious leaders needed to heed the warning.”
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The word “Brood” means “offspring” so the term means “offspring of vipers.”
The term “Vipers” refers to any of over twenty different kinds of poisonous snakes that can be found in Israel.
The poison of true “vipers” affects the respiratory systems and destroys the red blood cells...
This is the image being painted for us to understand how dangerous unrepentant individuals truly are.
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John the Baptist’s denouncing of both the religious elite and the crowd as a brood of vipers shows that John is identifying them with their father, Satan...
As Scripture records Satan as a serpent all throughout the Bible starting with Genesis...
For that is when Satan took on the form of a serpent in order to deceive mankind and lead to their fall.
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The superficial repentance of those John is addressing have vicious, hostile, poisonous natures and this reveals that they were children of the devil.
Brood of vipers are not only still around in our day but unfortunately are the majority of the population.
Even those who are now the children of God started off as children of the Devil.
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So, John does not hold back when rebuking the crowds as he noticed many coming to him thinking the ritual of baptism can save them...
But what is necessary is genuine and true repentance.
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Some people believe this is just John the Baptist being John the Baptist...
Some call this Hellfire and brimstone preaching...
Many times it is mocked and viewed as an archaic way of preaching...
Even widely popular Christian shows like “The Chosen” presents Jesus and a compassionate teacher who rebukes John for being “too much” in his preaching...
Funny how TV shows and movies...
No matter how popular can miss the biblical mark...
Because in Matthew 12:34 it was Jesus who said:
34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Consider too this from the New American Commentary on Luke:
“The close tie between the preaching of John the Baptist and of Jesus (and the early church) is clearly seen in this material.
John in fact served as an example for Christian preaching in Luke’s day.”
Or as New Testament scholar James R. Edwards puts it:
“[John is} in harmony with a chorus of Old Testament psalmists and prophets, and with Jesus, Paul, and the New Testament church, John warns of the ‘coming wrath’ of God.
God’s wrath does not compromise or contradict his goodness and holiness.
His wrath promotes his steadfast goodness, for truth is by nature intolerant of error, as love is of indifference and hate, and goodness is of evil.”
So, John the Baptist is just preaching like God has always commanded His people to preach and teach.
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Next, Luke records that John says, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
This phrase has the meaning of “Who has told you to flee the coming wrath by merely submitting to a rite of baptism?”
Again, the idea that any religious ritual can save you is false...
God is looking for a change of heart not a performance of a ritual that is treated like a “Get out of Hell” card!
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Retaining the figure of snakes, John the Baptist mentions fleeing the coming wrath.
Now, Beloved...
Keep this picture in mind...
When brush fires surfaced in the desert....
Guess what happened?
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Snakes would often come out of the ground to flee the flames...
So, John asks a provocative question as he inquires about who told them to flee the coming wrath...
He is asking do they really understand the magnitude of God’s wrath that is pointed directly at their heads...
Are they ready to run from their comfortable holes in recognition that destructive fire draws near?
Are they ready to turn from their wicked lives?
Are they ready to change they way they live?
Are they ready to stop living for themselves and start living for God?
And living for God means living for others!
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Take comfort in this, Church...
The words found in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 which says:
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
If you are one of God’s elect...
If you are one of His sheep...
You will not perish?
But how do we know who is really one of God’s elect or sheep?
Just ask yourself these questions...
Have you really repented?
Have you not just confessed your sins but truly desire not to do them?
Have you surrendered you love, desires, and will to God?
Do you desire to obey the commands found in the Word of God?
Have you ever experienced a transformation in your life after claiming to believing in Jesus?
Is your belief in Him beyond the intellectual?
Do you believe in Him enough to want to live differently?
No one is perfect but does your life reflect an overall picture of wickedness or righteousness?
If you are honest with yourself you will know if you belong to God or the Devil...
And I am always here to help you work that out as I won’t sugar coat it for you.
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As the followers of Christ, we are to be straight shooters...
For we desire to love others by sharing God’s truth with them...
No matter the personal cost of what speaking the truth may have on us.
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I beg you Church...
Speak God’s truth boldly and in love...
God will make no exceptions...
Judgment is coming...
Every sin and careless word will be judged...
And the penalty of sin is death...
The only hope of anyone with breath still in their lungs is to surrender to Christ...
For only then will the punishment you and I deserve be laid on our Lord instead...
He recieved our sins so He could cover us with His righteousness.
Our filthy rags...
Rotting rags...
That stink of waste and vomit...
Putrid to the nose...
In exchange for a royal robe fit for a ruler...
His blood did that!
And the world need to know it!
They can’t know about the gift of the royal robe until they realize what they are currently wearing...
They must hate their sin before they can surrender to Him.
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So, don’t censor the pure Gospel message!
As Jeremiah 18:7–8 says:
7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it,
8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.
The wrath of God is coming....
Either Jesus will experience it in your place...
Or you are all on your own...
If one repents and believes...
God will relent...
His wrath will not crush you!
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As we have learned from the events recorded in Jonah...
Nineveh, the wicked city...
When it was warned of the wrath to come...
They repented
Or as Jonah 3:10 says:
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Keep that in mind...
This is why we need to speak biblically when we share God’s truth.
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Next, our passage says, “‘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.”
The NLT translation of this verse is very helpful...
It says, “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.”
It does not matter what family you came from...
It does not matter what connections to famous people from history may appear on your family tree...
It does not matter what religion you grew up in or if your parents are faithful to the Lord...
None of those things will get you into heaven!
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What is needed is repentance...
And the proof is found in the way you live.
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One can claim to be a believer all day...
Shouting this claim from the rooftops...
Maybe even plastering on a billboard for good measure...
But the real question is how do you live your day to day life?
What goes on inside your mind in the secret place that only you and God know about?
Good works can’t save you but do you know what they do?
They reveal ones heart...
They show others what only God can see in the heart.
As Luke 6:43–44 says:
43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
God is looking at the heart!
God pushes away the proud and arrogant but the humble He takes in.
As Jesus said in Luke 5:32:
32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
He did not come for those that in their deceived mind believe they are righteous all by themselves...
No!
Jesus came for those who know they are spiritually bankrupt and are in desperate need of a Savior!
Jesus came to those who know they need to turn from their current path and follow Him instead!
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Luke then records John saying, “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.”
Again, I really like the version of the NLT of this verse...
It says, “Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”
So, the phrase the “axe is laid to the root” points to certain, speedy, and imminent judgment.
That is why we need to take seriously the warnings Jesus gave like those found in Mark 9:42–49:
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
49 For everyone will be salted with fire.
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Then, John the Baptist says, “Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Again, we see the message John is preaching here is the same one Jesus preached...
Just look at Matthew 7:15-19 as Jesus says:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
And Jesus says in John 15:6:
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
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God could not be more clear...
Living a life of sin...
Making a practice of wickedness...
That kind of carnal life is proof of a person who never really encountered Christ...
As 1 John 3:8 says:
8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
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So, these first few verses in our passage indicate that baptism by itself cannot save a person from the coming judgment if it is unaccompanied by a changed life.
With this reality set in the minds of the audience John is speaking to...
The crowd responds with a question...
And this takes us to our second point.
2) The Question
2) The Question
Verse 10: And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?”
Look at how the people respond to John’s message...
It was a bold message...
It was a convicting message...
And it was a necessary message that lead to this question by the crowds.
As pastor John MacArthur says,
“First and foremost, John was a preacher of repentance, calling on the people of Israel to turn from their sin and embrace the Messiah.
Repentance is at the heart of the gospel message; salvation is granted only to those who repent of their sin and acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only Savior and Lord.
It is impossible to truly preach the good news of forgiveness and grace without calling sinners to repent, and a gospel message devoid of a call to repentance is foreign to the New Testament.
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John’s message stands in sharp contrast to the “cheap grace” and “easy-believism” that characterizes much watered-down contemporary preaching.
Such deficient preaching strips the gospel of its warning that sinners have violated God’s law and face His wrath and judgment in eternal hell unless they repent.
The predictable result of a shallow, superficial gospel presentation devoid of a biblical call to repentance is a shallow, superficial, nonsaving response.
As a result, churches are filled with many who profess to know Jesus Christ, but since they have never repented the Lord will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”
Although they imagine themselves to be on the narrow way that leads to eternal life, they are in reality on the broad way that leads to eternal destruction.”
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The question of, “What then shall we do?” and other like it are found all throughout the Scriptures for this is the natural reaction of a heart that wants to change...
Take a look at Acts 16:25-31 and see what happens when others witness God’s love being displayed by Christ's followers:
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.
27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.
30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
As Paul and Silas shared the Gospel with the jailer...
We too are to share God’s truth on how one is to be saved...
That, of course, is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ...
But how does one know is they really believe?
Again, you have to look at the fruits...
John gives a few examples for us to help us understand how a genuine born again believer is supposed to act...
And that takes us to our third and final point.
3) The Answer
3) The Answer
Verses 11-14: And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 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.”
John starts our final section with the answer, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
A tunic was an undergarment like a shirt and usually only one was worn and needed...
Here John is suggesting that the any man who owns two tunics should instead give the spare to someone without one...
That is the same attitude we see in regards to food...
The message is to not horde your possessions and have so much extra while others don’t have enough to survive.
As Proverbs 25:21 says:
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
If that is the attitude we are to display to our enemies then how should we be treating our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ?
If that is the attitude we are to display to our enemies then how can we justify those in need who live right next to us...
If you see someone in need and you have more than enough share it!
We are not to build our treasures on earth!
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Remember these wise and true words from the Lord’s brother in James 1:27:
27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
The ones who have lost a spouse...
The ones who have no parents to call their own...
We should be meeting their needs as the church!
Nobody should starve or go hungry on our watch...
No one should lack the basic clothing needed to stay warm...
If this is going on in our communities then we are not doing our job if we have extra cloth in our attics and food in our pantries...
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Again, James does not hold back this truth...
Look at what he says in James 2:15–16:
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
Really!
What good is that?
If you have the means then as a follower of Christ you have the responsibility...
We covered this in depth in our study of 1 John but let me remind you of it again of what it says in 1 John 3:17:
17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
This is something everyone listening right now to this has to consider and evaluate in themselves.
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Next, the Baptist addresses specific groups as they came to inquire what they specifically should do...
So, Luke records that, “Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than you are authorized to do.’”
Consider this note from the Reformation Study Bible:
“Roman taxes were collected by agents who bid for the rights to collect taxes in a city.
They would pay the Romans what they bid and collect more for their own salaries.
There was a strong temptation for them to enrich themselves by collecting much more than what was reasonable.
Jewish tax collectors were despised as collaborators with the occupying Roman forces.
They were excluded from the religious life of the synagogue and the temple.
Yet Jesus enjoys table fellowship with them, and contact with Him transforms their grasping hearts.”
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Additionally, The Pillar New Testament Commentary on Luke has this to add:
“Tax collectors were despised and hated.
Mishnah and Talmud preserve scathing judgments of them from later periods, lumping them together with thieves and murderers.
A Jew who collected taxes was a cause of disgrace to his family, expelled from the synagogue, and disqualified as a judge or witness in court.
The touch of a tax collector rendered a house unclean.
Jews were forbidden from receiving money, including alms, from tax collectors, since tax revenues were deemed robbery.
Jewish contempt of tax collectors is epitomized in the ruling that Jews could lie to tax collectors with impunity—a ruling with which the houses of Hillel and Shammai, who normally stood poles apart, both agreed.
Tax collectors were tangible reminders of the Roman domination, detested alike for its injustice and Gentile uncleanness.
Not a few Jewish extremists, including one of Jesus’ disciples, considered submission to the Roman tax system an act of treason.”
So, as we can see...
Tax collectors had a pretty notorious reputation...
But God can melt the hardest of hearts...
Take a look with me at Luke 19:8 as it says this about a repentant tax collector:
8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
That is the attitude all of us should have...
That is what real repentance looks like...
We must learn that we are to be honest with our dealings with others...
And if we did wrong in the past we should correct it...
As Hebrews 13:5 says:
5 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.”
Stop stressing about that pay check...
God does not abandon His own...
I am not ashamed to say that our family has experienced need in the past...
But God provided...
And often times He does this through His followers...
So, we must put our trust in Him.
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Next, Luke records that another group desired to know what they themselves should do as it says, “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.’”
The “soldiers” here refers to enlisted Jews in the service of Herod Antipas and not Roman soldiers.
Here again we wee the same attitude toward money...
We are constantly warned to be content with what has been given to us even if we think that our salary is not appropriate for the work we are doing...
As Luke 12:15 records Jesus saying:
15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Jesus then follows this up with a parable to really drive home the meaning as found in Luke 12:16–21:
16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully,
17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’
18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
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So, Church...
Please note this...
The tax collectors and the solders were not told to quit their jobs and find new ones...
Instead John delivered a message that whatever field you are in...
Do not sin...
Yes, some jobs exist that a true Christian can never work...
But, a secular job is just as much a mission field as a job in ministry...
So, as Colossians 3:23-24 says:
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Do your work with honor...
Treat other the way you would ant to be treated...
Remember what Jesus says in Matthew 25:35–36:
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
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Joel B. Green, theologian, gives this summary of the passage we just reviewed together:
“Moreover, as in the Scriptures, the behaviors for which John calls are not themselves the basis for membership in God’s covenant people; rather, they are manifestations of that relationship.
To put it differently, these are the natural outgrowth of lives reoriented around the God who is himself merciful .”
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
As this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this...
A Quote I came across in my study this week:
There is no way to describe Hell.
Nothing on earth can compare with it.
No living person has any real idea of it.
No madman in wildest flights of insanity ever beheld its horror.
No man in delirium ever picture a place so utterly terrible as this.
No nightmare racing across a fevered mind ever produced a terror to match that of the mildest hell.
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No murder scene with splashed blood and oozing wound ever suggested a revulsion that could touch the border lands of hell.
Let the most gifted writer exhaust his skill in describing this roaring cavern of unending flame, and he would not have even brushed in fancy the nearest edge of hell.
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Hell was originally “prepared for the Devil and his angels”—not for man!
Little wonder that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repented.
He is saved, redeemed, rescued.
It makes the hearts in heaven glad.
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Hell and God’s wrath is a sure reality...
These truths are not popular topics to ever bring up...
In fact...
Many will label you cruel things for talking about these unsavory subjects...
There is a reason the people in the Old Testament killed the prophets...
John the Baptist was not beheaded because he told the king “you can have you best life now!”
Jesus was not crucified because He was a hippie that just spoke “positive words!”
Nearly all the apostles met a horrific end to their earthly life not because they “spoke in a way that didn’t offend anyone!”
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Heaven is real and so is Hell!
God is real and so is Satan!
Grace is real and so is God’s wrath!
So, stop shortchanging the Gospel message and proclaim it to your family...
Proclaim it to your friends...
Proclaim it to your coworkers...
Proclaim it to your neighbors...
Proclaim it to anyone who will give you the time and day!
Proclaim God’s truth and let the chips fall where they may!
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.