The Fruit of Repentance

Imagine that you're just going about your business,

living out your life,

doing the best that you can,

and you start hearing word from others in your community

that there's this guy,

and he's out in the middle of nowhere

on the sandy beach of Lake Diefenbaker,

and he's preaching

and doing some rather strange things,

dunking people in the lake.

And it's supposedly some kind of religious ritual.

A few more days go by,

and more people are beginning to talk about him.

A few more days go by,

and even more people are talking about him.

And then before you know it,

people from your own town

are making trips out to the lake to see this guy.

And some of them are coming back and saying,

ah, it's all a bunch of hogwash.

But others are saying

that this man's teaching

is radical

and life-changing.

They're saying,

we've never heard anyone like this.

Some are even proposing that this man speaks

for God.

And you nod,

and you listen,

and you're interested,

but are you going to make the trip

all the way out to the lake

to hear this guy?

Well, finally,

somebody that you know and love dearly

comes back from the lake,

and it seems as though

they really have changed.

They heard this man speak,

they were dunked,

and now they're pleading with you

to make the trip out yourself

and hear this man for yourself.

So you pack up your things,

you make the trip out to the lake,

you finally reach the spot,

and to your surprise,

there's this huge crowd

gathered right there

on the beach.

listening to this guy.

You push a little closer

to hear what people are saying

as they go out into the water

and say some words

and then get dunked.

But then all of a sudden,

as you catch the preacher's eye,

he looks at you

with this piercing gaze

and calls out to you,

you snake,

who warned you

to flee

from the wrath of God

that is coming?

This is how it was

about 2,000 years ago

on the shores

of the Jordan River

in the land of Israel.

The preacher's name

was John,

the son of Zechariah.

And we read from

John chapter 3,

John 3:7

verse 7,

that the crowds

were coming out

to be baptized by him.

And he said to them,

you brood of vipers,

who warned you

to flee

from the coming wrath?

Produce fruit

in keeping

with repentance.

repentance.

And do not begin

to say to yourselves,

we have Abraham

as our father.

For I tell you

that out of these stones,

God can raise up children

for Abraham.

The axe

is already

at the root

of the trees.

And every tree

that does not produce

good fruit

will be cut down

and thrown

into the fire.

So crowds

of people

were coming out

to him

in the wilderness

and John

was calling

them snakes.

Can you imagine

this?

You brood

of vipers.

And he was

telling them

that God's wrath

is coming.

Who warned

you

to flee

from the coming

wrath?

Now make

no mistake,

John is not

just some kind

of rattle

and tumble

guy who

gets a kick

out of insulting

people.

As we read

last Sunday

in verse 2,

John is a prophet.

The word

of God

has come

to him

and with

these words

he speaks

for God.

You brood

of vipers,

who warned

you

to flee

from the

coming wrath.

In other

words,

according to

God,

his wrath

is coming.

An outpouring

of punishment

is coming.

Why?

Because people

are wicked

and corrupt

and are

deserving

of it.

They are

snakes.

John

goes on.

Produce

fruit

in keeping

with repentance.

And if we

go down a little

further in verse

9,

the axe

is already

at the root

of the trees

and every

tree

that does

not produce

good fruit

will be

cut down

and thrown

into the

fire.

God

likens

the people

to trees,

specifically

fruit trees.

It's a very

common metaphor

in the Bible.

And if we

are trees,

then what

comes out

of us

as we

live

is the

fruit.

And it

can be

either good

fruit

or bad

fruit.

The good

fruit would

be good

deeds,

good words,

good attitudes

and desires.

The bad

fruit would

be sinful

deeds,

wickedness,

evil speech,

and selfish

and hate

filled

attitudes

and desires.

And so

this imperative

produce

fruit

in keeping

with repentance.

It's not

only a plea

but it's

kind of a

stinging

rebuke.

He's

basically

saying what's

coming out

of you

people right

now

is bad

fruit,

sin,

wickedness,

corruption.

He's

saying right

now your

living doesn't

say that you

have a

repentant

heart towards

God.

Your lives

don't say

that you're

truly sorry

to God

because

you keep

on living

that way

deliberately.

it's the

norm.

If you're

truly repentant

towards him

if you've

truly had a

change of

heart towards

him then

the fruit

that's coming

out of you

the way

that you're

living should

be changing.

And it

seems here

from the way

that John

describes

things that

one of the

biggest problems

here is a

sort of

religious

hypocrisy.

You see

this in

verse 8.

John says

do not

begin to

say to

yourselves

we have

Abraham as

our father

for I tell

you that out

of these

stones God

can raise

up children

for Abraham.

The axe is

already at the

root of the

trees and

every tree

that does

not produce

good fruit

will be

cut down.

So what

are the

people doing?

It would

seem that

they're saying

I'm fine

with God

I'm okay

with him

things are

well between

me and

him because

I'm a

child of

Abraham.

I'm a

descendant of

Abraham.

And God

made that

covenant with

Abraham and

his offspring.

I'm descended

from Abraham

what he promised

to Abraham

is mine and

so I'm good

to go.

I'm safe.

I can do

as I please.

I can live

as I want.

So they were

claiming to be

people of God.

They were

claiming to be

children of

Abraham.

And yet

the way

that they

were living

was not

at all

like the

God that

they were

professing

to worship.

It was

not at all

like the

man of

true faith

that Abraham

was.

John's

saying that

the fruit

that's coming

out of you

you're living

it doesn't

match up

to your

profession

of faith.

faith.

Look at

what your

actions

and your

words

and your

attitudes

are

showing.

They're

showing

that

you're

wicked.

So don't

even start

don't even

begin

to tell

yourself

that you're

all good

with God

because of

your

ancestry.

Or that

somehow

you will

be spared

what you

deserve

for your

sins

because

you're

a

descendant

of

Abraham.

God

can raise

up

children

to receive

the promises

he made

to Abraham

from these

stones

on the

ground

says

John

you

need to

change

your ways.

You need

to repent.

You need

to turn

back to

God.

You need

to begin

producing

in your

lives

that good

fruit that

God

desires

his people

to produce.

Fruit

that fits

with a

truly

repentant

heart.

And if

you do

not

change

if you

do not

repent

if you

do not

begin

producing

that

good

fruit

God

will

give

you

what

you

deserve.

Look at

verse 9.

The axe

is already

at the root

of the

trees

and every

tree

that does

not

produce

good

fruit

will be

cut

down

and

thrown

into

the

fire.

Can you

imagine

standing

there on

the shore

as John

says

these

words

to you

and

these

are

God's

words.

God

is ready

to cut

you

down

because

you are

like a

fruit

tree

that

isn't

producing

any

good

fruit

only

bad

fruit.

He's

saying

God

is ready

to give

you

what

you

deserve

for

your

sins.

In

his

perfect

justice

he is

ready

to cut

you

down

and

throw

you

into

the

fire.

And

the

response

of many

in the

crowds

to this

was

positive.

look at

the next

verse

verse 10

what

should

we

do

then

the

crowd

asked

John

answered

anyone

who

has

two

shirts

should

share

with

the

one

who

has

none

food

should

do

the

same.

Even

tax

collectors

came

to be

baptized.

Teacher

what

should

we

do?

Don't

collect

any

more

than

you

are

required

to

he

told

them.

Then

some

soldiers

asked

him

and

what

should

we

do?

He

replied

don't

extort

money

and

don't

accuse

people

falsely.

Be

content

with

your

pay.

The

people

were

waiting

expectantly

and

they

were

all

wondering

in

their

hearts

if

John

might

possibly

be

the

Messiah.

So

John

didn't

sugarcoat

things

one bit.

He

didn't

beat

around

the

bush.

He

just

preached

what

he

heard

from

God

straight.

He

called

the

people

snakes.

He

preached

that

the

wrath

of

God

was

coming.

He

called

out

that

clear

inconsistency

between

what

people

were

claiming

to

know

God

and

the

way

that

they

were

living

and

he

told

them

that

if

they

did

not

truly

repent

God

would

throw

them

into

the

fire.

And

surprisingly

maybe

many

responded

!

to

this

with

sincere

humility

and

actually

repented.

They

humbled

themselves.

They

said

John

you're

right

we

need

to

change.

They

began

confessing

their

sins

as we

read

in the

gospel

of

Mark

and

they

went

out

into

the

water

and

they

were

getting

baptized

and

they

were

asking

these

kinds

of

humble

and

sincere

questions.

What

does

this

mean

for

me

now?

Do

I

need

to

quit

my

job?

I'm

a

tax

collector.

I'm

a

soldier.

The

first

thing

John

mentions

in

verse

11

is

the

problem

of

greed

and

a

lack

of

compassion.

The

problem

of a

concern

only

for

one's

self.

He

says

anyone

who

has

two

shirts

should

share

with

the

one

who

has

none.

Anyone

who

has

food

should

do

the

same.

There's

people

suffering

poor.

They

lack

the

necessities

of

life

and

many

of

you

have

an

abundance.

You

have

extra,

more

than

you

need

and

yet

you

are

greedily

keeping

those

things

to

yourself.

You

are

selfishly

withholding

from

them

when

it's

in

your

power

to

help.

even

tax

collectors

came

to be

baptized.

What

should

we

do?

Don't

collect

any

more

than

you

are

required

to,

he

told

them.

There's

a whole

study

that you

could

do here

on tax

collectors.

It was

a very

complicated

system

that they

had under

Roman

rule.

The Romans

outsourced

tax

collecting

to local

agents

and

those

agents

were

allowed

to

add

their

own

fees

and

you

combine

that

with

greed

and

corruption

and

pretty

soon

you

have

these

hated

individuals

going

around

collecting

through

extortion

using

threats

and it

was

really

ugly

and

yet

some

of

these

men

had

a

change

of

heart

too.

They

repented.

notice

John

doesn't

say

you

need

to

quit

your

job

you

can't

be

a

tax

collector

anymore

instead

they

were

to

bring

the

fruit

of

repentance

into

the

job

that

they

had

and

do

what

was

right

collecting

only

as

much

as

required

which

would

likely

have

included

a

reasonable

amount

for

them

to

live

off

as

well.

Some

soldiers

came

what

should

we

do?

John

says

to

them

don't

extort

money

and

don't

accuse

people

falsely

be

content

with

your

pay.

There's

some

debate

over

what

kind

of

soldiers

these

were

whether

Jewish

or

Roman

but

whatever

the

case

their

military

status

their

equipment

and

perhaps

their

strength

were

often

things

they

would

be

tempted

to

use

to

take

advantage

of

others

and

again

we

see

that

word

extort

money

often

motivated

by

greed

here

too

John

doesn't

say

you

got

to

quit

your

job

serving

in

the

military

isn't

inherently

immoral

but

as a

soldier

there

are

those

unique

temptations

to

bully

to

take

by

force

to

plunder

don't

do

that

anymore

says

John

be

content

with

your

pay

one

of the

things

I

notice

in

each

of

these

three

examples

is

just

how

much

greed

is

in

all

three

of

them

greed

and

self

interest

sometimes

greed

looks like

ignoring

the

plight

of

the

needy

other

times

it's

more

obvious

it

looks

like

taking

advantage

of

others

using

your

position

or

your

power

but

in

all

these

cases

John

is

saying

the

good

fruit

that

repentance

should

lead

to

is

compassion

generosity

sharing

with people

who are

in need

kindness

towards

others

contentment

with what

God has

given you

even if

you're

going

through

challenges

and so

these are

some good

questions

to ask

God

in

prayer

Lord

does

greed

live

in my

heart

what

should

I

do

in

keeping

with

repentance

are

there

changes

I

need

to

make

have

I

been

ignoring

the

plight

of

the

poor

or

the

needy

around

me

when

it's

in

my

power

to

provide

to

share

with

others

who

are

in

need

have

I

been

prioritizing

my

family's

finances

only

around

what

I

want

or

have

I

been

making

choices

that

serve

all

of

us

best

the

needs

that

we

all

have

we

might

have

expected

that

everybody

hearing

this

would

just

poo

pooh

John

like

who

wants

to

hear

this

shut

up

I

am

generous

all

those

poor

beggars

well

God

helps

those

who

help

themselves

right

I'm

not

greedy

there

are

lots

of

people

who

have

more

than

I

do

and

I'm

not

being

paid

what

I'm

worth

that's

our

natural

sinful

response

and

yet

surprisingly

here

again

maybe

many

responded

favorably

to the

words

coming

through

John

the

people

were

waiting

expectantly

and

were

all

wondering

in

their

hearts

if

John

might

possibly

be

the

Messiah

and

John

overheard

their

wonderings

and he

didn't

hesitate

to

declare

I'm

not

the

Messiah

no

but

the

Messiah

is

coming

verse

16

John

answered

them

all

I

baptize

you

with

water

but

one

who

is

more

powerful

than

I

will

come

the

straps

of

whose

sandals

I

am

not

worthy

to

untie

he

will

baptize

you

with

the

Holy

Spirit

and

fire

his

winnowing

fork

is in

his

hand

to

clear

his

threshing

floor

and to

gather

the

wheat

into

his

barn

but

the

chaff

he

will

burn

up

with

unquenchable

fire

so

John

says

no

I'm

not

the

Messiah

one

who

is

greater

than

me

is

coming

and

John

begins

to

whet

the

appetites

of

the

people

by

telling

them

of

the

greatness

of

Jesus

even

before

people

know

who

he

is

and

it

starts

with

this

series

of

contrasts

first

let's

notice

the

contrast

in

greatness

John

says

essentially

you think

I'm

great

no

not

at

all

there's

somebody

about

to

be

here

coming

who

is

far

more

powerful

than

I

in

what

way

he

goes

on

I'm

just

immersing

you

in

water

and

it's

symbolic

but

the

one

who

is

coming

has

the

power

to

bring

about

the

spiritual

reality

that

this

baptism

points

to

he

has

the

power

the

authority

to

actually

grant

forgiveness

and to

cleanse

you

and

wash

you

of

your

guilt

and

your

sins

by

the

spirit

of

God

he

will

baptize

you

with

the

Holy

Spirit

another

contrast

notice

the

statement

of

worthiness

that

John

makes

about

Jesus

here

he

is

so

great

he

is

so

powerful

he

is

so

worthy

that

I

am

not

even

worthy

to

untie

his

sandals

for

him

this

is

one

of

the

lowest

acts

of

service

that

you

could

possibly

do

for

a

person

and

John

says

I'm

not

even

fit

to

get

down

on

the

ground

on

my

face

and

untie

his

sandals

for

him

not

even

worthy

to

be

in

his

presence

it's

a

statement

of

true

humility

but

also

just

how

great

and

worthy

Jesus

is

could

it

be

that

John

even

knows

now

that

his

cousin

is

both

the

Messiah

and

the

very

son

of

God

could

it

be

that

John

is

quite

aware

of

his

own

sinful

heart

and

his

own

need

to

repent

even

as

he's

calling

the

people

to

it

let's

talk

about

the

baptism

statements

that

are

made

here

John

says

I

baptize

with

water

but

he

will

come

and

will

baptize

you

with

the

Holy

Spirit

and

fire

we're

going

to

talk

about

the

fire

in

just

a

second

but

let's

first

talk

about

what

it

means

to

be

baptized

in

or

with

the

Holy

Spirit

this

is

a

really

difficult

concept

it's

a

challenging

metaphor

and

there's

a lot

of

discussion

among

Bible

believing

Christians

as to

what

does

this

mean

and

the

difficulty

here

is

going

to

two

things

first

he

just

kind

of

mentions

it

in