Repent
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Introduction
Introduction
Good Morning - I’m Rob - Elder/Pastor - Glad you’re here
We do Expositional or Expository Preaching here. Mainly because it guards us from bringing our own opinions or cultural ideologies into this pulpit. We value the Word of God as infallible and without error. Exposing what God inspired is the intention.
In the world of expository preaching there are scriptures that you come to and they’re light and uplifting and encouraging. And there are passages you come to that are heavier - perhaps where joking throughout is less appropriate. This is a heavier message as we discuss the message of John the Baptist in Luke Chapter 3.
Please Stand as we Read
Please Stand as we Read
Luke 3:1-14.
Luke 3:1-14.
Read - Then Pray
Read - Then Pray
Message
Message
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
God has planned this moment precisely and this message was intentional - This should draw our attention.
God has planned this moment precisely and this message was intentional - This should draw our attention.
We draw two things form the first couple of verses in this chapter. Luke demonstrates for Theophilus his attention to detail and the rigor with which he prepared and compiled data for this account. Secondly, it demonstrates the preciseness of God. Luke uses 6 different points of reference for when this was taking place. We serve a precise God. He picked this moment. Long before time was set in motion God had this moment fixed in his mind.
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
God Spoke to John
God Spoke to John
God spoke to John. He spoke to him in the same way he spoke to the prophets of old. “In the year of…the Word of the Lord came to...” is a common entrance for a prophetic book in the old testament.
the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
Similar in Jeremiah, Jonah, Micah, Zephaniah, Samuel and others.
Some others who don’t have books named after them:
Nathan - 2 Sam. 7:4
King Solomon - 1 Kings 6:11
Elijah - Elisha - and several others.
This is a way the Word of God draws importance and attention to what follows:
This is a way the Word of God draws importance and attention to what follows:
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
God goes on to make an eternal covenant with Abram in the verses that follow.
And today...
And today...
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
Luke is telling Theophilus that in the same way God spoke to the prophets of old, he spoke to John. In the same way, with the same power that he spoke to Isaiah, Daniel, Joel, Nahum, Ezekiel, and Habakkuk he spoke to “John the son of Zechariah”.
And therefore John was to communicate this “Word” with the same authority, with the same urgency as the OT Prophets.
And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
John Listened and Obeyed
John Listened and Obeyed
And John obeys. John knows God. John knows who God is. John knows that this God who spoke to him is indeed the same God that spoke to the prophets of old.
This was not a God like other gods - This is the God...
who parted the Red Sea
who commands legions of angels
Who, at the prayer of Elijah sent fire and consumed the burnt offering in the presence of all that were there to worship a puny and false god, and the event was so beyond the thinking capacity of those present that 1 Kings 18:39
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
John knows this is Yahweh, the God of all things.
As Luke says quoting Isaiah in verses 3-5.....
As Luke says quoting Isaiah in verses 3-5.....
As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways,
John Knows God
John Knows God
This is a God who straightens the crooked! He is Big and Great enough to completely fill up the deepest of valleys. He is mighty and powerful enough to bring down the highest of mountains. His righteousness is so righteous that it makes the crooked straight. His presence is such that the rough things become smooth and level. He is a God that evens everything out. He is above all things and all things are for him. Both the best things in this world and the most evil things in this world will give God glory in the end. John knows this God. He knows that this God, is a God to be listened to. This word is one to be obeyed, adhered to, to see through to the end.
So, Let’s look at the message. What was John’s message from God?
So, Let’s look at the message. What was John’s message from God?
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.”
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?
Origen Adamantius, a scholar in the 2nd century A.D.
Origen Adamantius, a scholar in the 2nd century A.D.
“Origen taught that the threats of eternal punishment were only hortatory (meant to exhort or to spur on)....Origen admits that the grammatical sense of the scriptural terms teaches an everlasting and inextinguishable fire; but considers this an intentional and gracious deceit on the part of God to deter men from sinning.”
Ligonier Ministries did a Study this year in which they surveyed a wide spectrum of people who would say they are “christian” that you can find on thestateoftheology.com - In the study one of the questions was, true or false, “Hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever
30% of them disagreed that Hell is a real place.
10% of the evangelicals they asked, disagreed.
Donald Bloesch said...
Donald Bloesch said...
“If anything has disappeared from modern thought, it is the belief in a supernatural heaven and hell. Even those who retain some vague idea of heavenly bliss beyond the pale of death are extremely reluctant to give serious credence to the threat of a final judgment”
This is a truth that through the ages humanity has not wanted to deal with. We so badly don’t want this to be true. Because if it is then we most likely have coworkers and friends and family that will inevitably spend their eternity there. As a society and even within the American church we long for relief from such a doctrine.
But a Gospel preached without the doctrine of Hell and without the Wrath of God is not complete. It’s not good news without that. It’s a false gospel. It would make us false teachers.
But a Gospel preached without the doctrine of Hell and without the Wrath of God is not complete. It’s not good news without that. It’s a false gospel. It would make us false teachers.
Hear me when I say there is a wrath to come.
Hear me when I say there is a wrath to come.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Jesus spoke of judgement and hell more than any other subject during his ministry here on Earth.
Imagine a society in which all criminals no matter the crime simply went unpunished.
where rapists go free.
Where child pornographers are acquitted.
where car thieves were simply allowed to keep the car and enjoy their drive.
Imagine an American judge that let everyone from parking tickets to premeditated murder walk.
That would be a terrible judge and he would be relieved of his seat swiftly.
God is a righteous judge. And all crimes against him little or great are great. All crimes against him are rightly deserving of eternal damnation.
God is so good, right, and holy that on judgement day (one church father said) the damned will be in complete agreement with their damnation!
There is a wrath to come, and the axe is already laid to the base of the tree and God is ready to judge.
“But I’m saved”, you might say.
Who is John talking to here.
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? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
He’s talking specifically to the religious people of the day! The Pharisees and Sadducees were the religious people of Johns day. The equivalent today would be some church people. So, we are to read what John is saying as if he’s saying it to those in the church who are like the religious people of his time.
Game of Thrones Article - Kevin DeYoung - The Gospel Coalition
Game of Thrones Article - Kevin DeYoung - The Gospel Coalition
This will not be a long post. Because the issue doesn’t seem all that complicated.
I don’t understand Christians watching Game of Thrones.
Whenever there is a new episode, my Twitter feed overflows with people talking about Game of Thrones. First off, I’m always amazed that this many people have HBO. But second, and much more importantly, I’m always amazed that a number of people I respect—smart people, serious Christians, good conservative thinkers—are obviously watching (and loving) the series.
True, I haven’t seen it. Not an episode. Not a scene. I hardly know anything about the show. I know many people consider it absolutely riveting—full of compelling characters, an engrossing story, and excellent acting, writing, and aesthetics.
But isn’t it also full of sex? Like lots and lots of incredibly graphic sex? I did a Google search for it and found headlines about sex scenes you can’t un-see and the best sex scenes of the series and why Game of Thrones is so committed to nudity and explicit (sometimes violent) sex. Unless I’m mistaken, the series hasn’t taken a turn toward modesty in recent months. It seems to me sensuality—of a very graphic nature—is a major part of the series. And still, a good number of conservative Christians treat the series as must-see TV.
A backlash of comments and criticism came about after he wrote this article. Here were some of the excuses coming from people.
1. You haven’t even seen the show!
2. Don’t like it? Then don’t watch it!
4. Sex scenes and nudity don’t phase me.
5. My conscience isn’t bothered.
6. Stop judging and shaming!
8. Most shows have good and bad elements. The story and artistry outweigh these bad scenes.
10. Don’t we have more important things to worry about?
Conclusion
Conclusion
Come Thou Fount
Come Thou Fount
“It was a bright Sunday morning in 18th century London, but Robert Robinson’s mood was anything but sunny. All along the street there were people hurrying to church, but in the midst of the crowd, Robinson was a lonely man. The sound of church bells reminded him of years past when his faith in God was strong and the church was an integral part of his life. It had been years since he set foot in a church—years of wandering, disillusionment, and gradual defection from the God he once loved. That love for God—once fiery and passionate—had slowly burned out within him, leaving him dark and cold inside.
Robinson heard the clip-clop, clip-clop of a horse-drawn cab approaching behind him. Turning, he lifted his hand to hail the driver. But then, he saw that the cab was occupied by a young woman dressed in finery for the Lord’s Day, he waved the driver on; however, the woman in the carriage ordered the carriage to be stopped. “Sir, I’d be happy to share this carriage with you,” she said to Robinson. “Are you going to church?” Robinson was about to decline, then he paused. “Yes,” he said at last. “I am going to church.” He stepped into the carriage and sat down beside the young woman.
As the carriage rolled forward, Robert Robinson and the woman exchanged introductions. There was a flash of recognition in her eyes when he stated his name. “That’s an interesting coincidence,” she said, reaching into her purse. She withdrew a small book of inspirational verse, opened it to a ribbon bookmark, and handed the book to him. “I was just reading a verse by a poet named Robert Robinson. Could it be…?”
He took the book, nodding. “Yes, I wrote these words years ago.”
“Oh, how wonderful!” she exclaimed. “Imagine! I’m sharing a carriage with the author of these very lines!”
But Robinson barely heard her. He was absorbed in the words he was reading. They were words that would one day be set to music and become a great hymn of the faith, familiar to generations of Christians:
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace’
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
His eyes slipped to the bottom of the page where he read:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it—
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
He could barely read the last few lines through the tears that brimmed in his eyes. “I wrote these words—and I’ve lived these words. ‘Prone to wander…prone to leave the God I love.’”
The woman suddenly understood. “You also wrote, ‘Here’s my heart, O take and seal it.’ You can offer your heart again to God, Mr. Robinson. It’s not too late.”
And it wasn’t too late for Robert Robinson. In that moment, he turned his heart back to God and walked with him the rest of his days.
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