Fruits of Repentance
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Introduction
Introduction
Back in 1998 I was at Fort Leonard Wood in Basic Combat Training. I loved nearly every minute of it. We had learned all types of stuff that I had never known before. I learned how to put a tourniquet on a wounded soldier. I learned how to fire a rifle, throw a grenade. I was better at throwing a grenade than firing a rifle, by the way. As the saying goes, close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. I learned teamwork and how to eat an entire meal in under 3 minutes. But what I did not learn was how to read a topographical map. We had our lesson in a classroom and then we were taken into the middle of the woods, given a map, a compass, and our coordinates to find. My battle buddy and I set off thinking we’d make it in record time. We were the last to arrive, and only then because we stumbled across a road and were picked up by one of our drill sergeants sent out to look for us. My battle buddy would often say something like, “I think we need to turn around.” Or “I think we’re going the wrong way.” But I wouldn’t listen. I wouldn’t change course. I wouldn’t turn back.
It’s hard to admit when you’re wrong. It’s hard to admit when you’re lost. It’s hard to admit that it’s time to turn around.
This morning, we’re opening a section of Scripture in which we see John the Baptist calling upon people to repent. Like my battle buddy, but even more stringent, John was saying, “You’re going the wrong way. You must turn around.” As we look at this passage, we’re getting a look at what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Because what we see from John is a strength to do what God has called him to do: to preach and perform a baptism of repentance. In this passage we see three acts of courage as the Spirit of God strengthens John to fulfill his calling.
We first see the act of courage to confront those who come for baptism. The second act of courage is when he cautioned those who come for baptism. The third act of courage happened when he counselled those who came to him.
The Courage to Confront
The Courage to Caution
The Courage to Counsel
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.”
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?”
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.”
The Courage to Confront
The Courage to Confront
The first act of courage that we see in the text is the fact that John the Baptist confronted those who were coming for baptism. You may remember that when Gabriel told Zechariah, John’s father, that he would have a son, he told him that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. And what we find, when someone is filled with the Spirit in Scripture, it is always a supernatural strength to accomplish the task that God has given. It was that way with Balaam, with Samson, with Saul’s messengers, with Asa, and the apostles soon after Peter and John were released.
So here is John the Baptist, in a constant state of Spirit-filling, doing as God had called him to do. And he demonstrates the courage to confront those coming for baptism.
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?
It takes a special kind of courage to confront those coming to you for help. There’s a saying in sales, “when you make the sale, shut up.” These people were flocking to John to get baptized. In a sense, it didn’t seem like he really needed to say anything. Word apparently had spread. This baptism of repentance was “selling itself.” But John didn’t want this baptism to “sell itself.” This wasn’t a gimmick. This wasn’t some fad. This was a baptism of repentance—a baptism of turning around. It was not something to be taken lightly. It was not something for the haughty.
So as the crowds would come, John would confront. Perhaps he could tell the insincerity of those coming. Repentance has a look. Certainly it can be faked, but genuine repentance is preceded by godly grief. Paul wrote
As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Perhaps no sign of godly grief was upon their faces. Perhaps they continued to strut as if they hadn’t a care in the world. And John confronted them. He called them snakes and asked them who warned them to flee the coming wrath. Today, we might say, “You bunch of rats, who told you the ship was sinking?” You can just picture the rats fleeing from the flooding waters. It’s one thing to seek this baptism because you realized you’ve sinned against a holy God, but something completely different to seek it just to hedge your bets.
Beloved, there is no hedging your bets with Jesus; no hedging your bets with baptism. Eternity is not a mutual fund in which you have some higher risk stocks and some bonds to counterbalance them. A person who seeks to go through the motions of baptism or church attendance or giving of offerings shows a shallow understanding of who God is. And proves himself to be a double-minded man and unstable in his ways.
It’s not enough to simply just flee from the wrath to come. It’s not enough to seek higher place on a sinking ship.
The Courage to Caution
The Courage to Caution
The first act of courage that the Holy Spirit drummed up in John was the courage to confront. But like a good prophet, John didn’t leave it at confrontation. He gave a word of caution as well; the Spirit brought forth the courage to caution those who came for baptism.
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.
I’ll talk about bearing fruit in a moment, but look at the caution that John gave. “Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’” In other words, “Don’t even let the thought enter into your minds that you’ll be find because you’re of the line of Abraham.”
John, the apostle wrote in his gospel account,
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
When Jesus came, his own people did not receive him; that means that the Jews did not receive Jesus. They rejected him and because they rejected him, they proved that they were already under condemnation, just as all who reject Jesus are said to be.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
The Jewish people as a whole turned away from their own Messiah. However, everyone who believed in him, they got the right to be called the children of God.
Israel had long been considered God’s child, his son. But now John the Apostle says, that they rejected their Messiah, the Son of God. And they forfeited the right to be called the children of God, but all who received him would be given such a right. Proving then that it was not those who were born from the blood of Abraham who would be called the children of God. Proving it was not a matter of will-power and self-determinism or even what a person may want. It was all in the hands of God. They must be born of God.
And here John the Baptist has said, “Don’t even let the thought into your mind that you’re safe because you’re in the line of Abraham. God could raise up these stones and make them Abraham’s children.” He can bear himself new children anytime he likes.
I don’t think I’ve met anyone like this, but I’m told they’re out there. There seems to be people who still hold to the idea that because of their genealogy, God owes them something. Because their mother was a Christian, they’re doing just fine with God, like they’ve got diplomatic immunity because of the status of mom and dad. But there are others who cling to their actions of the past as if they’ve merited enough favor with God. Altar boys and childhood Sunday School attendance, giving to the church and volunteering at food banks and stuff like that makes up for the sins they’ve committed.
These and others are the ones who need to be confronted and cautioned because they have a fundamental misunderstanding as to the coming wrath that awaits them.
That’s what Luke pointed out in
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.”
The wrath hasn’t come yet. That tree is still standing. But if it doesn’t start bearing good fruit, it will be cut down. It’s like the lumberjack has placed the axe down on the ground, leaning up against the tree for the moment, but at any time, he could pick it back up and start swinging away. Later in Luke, Jesus gives this same analogy in a parable. I’ll wait till we get to it to discuss, but the idea that God’s wrath could come at any moment is not a scare tactic, but it ought to strike fear into the hearts of all who have not heeded this warning. And it is a warning, a warning from the Spirit.
The Courage to Counsel
The Courage to Counsel
But it is not just having the courage to confront and the courage to caution, but John was given the courage to counsel. I told you we would get back to that “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” Let’s deal with that now. That phrase, “in keeping with” literally means “evident of.” If you’ve ever heard someone say that something is “axiomatic,” they mean that something is “self-evident.” That’s the word that Luke used in this phrase. Bear fruits axios/evident of repentance. And in giving this general counsel, Luke would give specific counsel as to what it means to bear fruit evident of repentance. First, he gave specific counsel as to clothes and food.
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?”
And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
Notice that John’s confrontation and caution actually drew a response from the people. Had he said nothing, they would have heard nothing. Had they heard nothing, they would not have responded. But here they respond. “What then shall we do?” The first sermon that we have of John produced responses as to what must be done. The same is true with Peter.
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
It is the response that we hope for, and if or when we receive it, may the Spirit give us the courage to give the right counsel. John’s counsel was pointed. “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none.” And lest we forget, John is not preaching a works-based salvation. He isn’t saying, “if you give away your tunic, God will like you and give you another chance.” This is John’s explaining what fruits evident of repentance looks like. So, if one is repentant, then he/she becomes giving rather than selfish.
Again, soon after Peter preached his first sermon and the people responded asking what they should do, Peter’s response was that they should repent and be baptized. And what was the result? Fruit evident of repentance.
And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
Luke said, not just your tunic—not just your clothing, but also your food. A repentant heart is a gracious heart. It is a compassionate heart.
But then he gets specific with some tax collectors. These were most likely low-level, hired-out tax collectors. It was kind of like a pyramid scheme. You had the Romans who kept the taxes. Then you had bidders who offered to gather the taxes. Then you had those that the bidders hired out. Each person got a cut of the pie. So long as the person above got what they were to get, it didn’t matter how much the person below got. So the hired out would collect their tolls and do some price gauging, so they got to keep anything more than was required by the bidder. The bidder would take his share of the cut and then give the actual taxes to Rome. So what does John tell them?
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.”
If the tax-collectors were on the road of price-gauging, then to show fruits of repentance—of turning around—it would mean that they needed to take only what was authorized. In other words, it’s fine to make an honest days wage from an honest day’s work. But for the truly repentant, there can be no more dishonest gain from dishonest work.
Paul would say something similar to the Ephesians
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
This isn’t simply a morality lesson that John is proclaiming. This is holiness being proclaimed.
Finally, he was specific with the soldiers. Soldiers were not paid well. Usually, they’d have to buy their own equipment. Thus, the temptation to abuse their power for the sake of their own well-being and comfort was real.
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.”
If one is prone to abuse their power, the fruits of repentance would naturally be to stop abusing his power. If one was discontent with her wages, turning from that mindset would then be to be content with her wages.
Repentance is not just a general idea. It is not simply I’m turning from this direction and now I’m wandering in this direction. Each of these specific situations show that repentance leads to specific fruit, the opposite fruit of the sin. Selfishness to Selflessness. Heartlessness to Humanity. Coercion to Contentment.
Just as a side-note, but still noteworthy, notice that all of these have to do with money. Money will always reveal the secrets of a person’s heart.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we finish the text this morning, you may have noticed there is one glaring omission. We’ve talked about repentance. The courage to confront, caution, and counsel those in need of repentance. But there is still one more area that we need to counsel people on. It’s the flip side of repentance. That is faith. John obviously did not mention this part of it because Jesus had not yet started his ministry and had certainly not died or risen again. But now that those have happened, we need to be sure to make people aware of their need to put their trust in Jesus. We all must entrust our entire being—body, soul, and mind—to Jesus. It isn’t enough to just turn over a new leaf or start going in a direction opposite of what we were doing. We must trust Jesus in the direction he is leading. We must whole-heartedly follow after him.
When I was teaching my kids to ride a bike, they would want to look at their feet or look at the front wheel or handlebars, or sometimes look at me or mom. I would tell them over and over again, “Don’t look at those things. Look at where you want to go. You’re bike is going to go wherever you’re looking.” It is so easy for us to follow Jesus and start gazing at things around us. We look down at our feet, gazing inwardly and asking, “am I going fast enough? Am I doing enough?” We look at the handlebars and front wheel noticing how wobbly we are and fear we’re going to crash. We look over and see if anyone else notices how poor or how well we’re doing. But church family, it’s time to refocus our view and look to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith.
If you’ve never looked to Jesus, it’s time to do so now. Your search is over for the path to take. Jesus is the way—the only way to go. Follow him. Trust him to take you all the way home.