Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis,
and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high
priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of
repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words
of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be
filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall
be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall
see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be
baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not
to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you,
That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now
also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the
people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto
them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that
hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and
said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more
than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him,
saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man,
neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. And as the people
were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were
the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you
with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not
worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will
gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
(Luke
3:1-17)
Evil men of that day rule in the
Holy Place of Jerusalem just as the abomination that maketh desolate is
now standing in the Holy Place of America’s churches. That abomination has been
severely censored by God in both the Old and New Testament. We have ordained
and consecrated men (and women) who are openly homosexual to the ministry in
the churches in America. These wicked people now stand in pulpits and even in
episcopal authority over those pulpits. How long do we feel God will withhold His
wrath for this willful disregard for His Word? …..and they shall pollute
the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they
shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. Neither
shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor
regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. (Daniel
11:31, 37) and When ye therefore shall
see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in
the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) (Matt 24:15) This
has direct reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus of Romans in 70 AD,
but it also has a parallel meaning for us today who disregard the Word of God
and allow unholy men to serve in ministry. Christ fulfilled the law of
sacrifice so, regardless of what is done on an altar has no relevance, but what
happens in the pulpits of the Church have a gravity that we had best begin to
deal with or suffer the wrath to come.
God establishes a definite
chronology for the Coming of His only Begotten Son so that the Scriptures will
all agree as to the words spoken of the prophets centuries past. He sets the
stage for our understanding. The Scripture cannot be broken regardless
the futile attempts of higher critics and textual ‘engineers’ to the contrary. Now
in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being
governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch
of Abilene.
The stage is set for the
arraignment of all of those despots who would, not only preside over the land
throughout the ministry of Christ, but also at its closing through their direct
complicity in His trial and crucifixion. It was to Tiberius Caesar that the
land must pay obeisance, and to a local Pro-Consul named Pontius Pilate that
would preside over the enforcement of that obeisance. Annas and Caiaphas sat in
the seat of High Priest. Little did they realize that their own wickedness
would be consummated in the de-thronement of their role as High Priests and the
One whom they wish to destroy would take that title in Eternity future. Annas
and Caiaphas being the high priests..
…..the word of God came
unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. It is amazing how
clearly and often the Word of God comes to His people in the Wilderness.
Perhaps, in the providence of God, only one man has been determined to receive
that particular Word, therefore, the Wilderness is the appropriate place for
its being revealed to him. Our prayers are better heard when we pray, not for
the recognition of men, but in our closets alone with God. The Word of God is
such an all-potent and valuable sound! FRIENDS, if there is one great thing
in this world, it is the Word of God; ‘great in origin, great in thought, great
in promise, great in beauty, great in purpose, great in power, great in its
results ! It hangs as by a golden cord from the throne of the Highest, and all
heaven's light, life, love, and sweetness come down into it for us. It hangs
there like a celestial harp ; the daughters of sorrow tune it, and awake a
strain of consolation. The hand of joy strikes it, and feels a diviner note of
gladness. The sinner comes to it, and it discourses to him of repentance and
salvation. The saint bends an ear to it, and then it talks to him of an
intercessor and immortal kingdom. The dying man lays his trembling hand on it,
and there steals thence into his soul the promise, Lo,
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. When thou
passest through the waters, they shall not overflow thee, and through the fires,
thou shalt not be burned. Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world!
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. This mortal shall
put on immortality, and this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and death
shall be swallowed up in victory. Where is promise, where is song like this
? Magnify the Word of God! EE Adams (The Reformed manner of preaching is the
expositional approach.) If we wish to preach with authority, we must preach the
Word of God and not the word of the man delivering the sermon.
And he
came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for
the remission of sins. Has this approach in preaching been
disannulled? Should we, too, not be as fervent as George Whitfield, John
Wesley, and Charles Spurgeon in preaching the baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins? But, alas, I must be dreaming – SIN is no longer fashionable
to be condemned – not in our very modern and broad-minded world! He came into
the country about Jordan, the same waters in which our Lord was baptized by
John, and whose sweet waters never fail the wilderness traveler. Luke does not
even mention the apparel of John, but goes directly to the heart of his mission
as a bolt of lightning to the lightning rod – ….preaching the baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins.
As it
is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of
one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be
brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall
be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Here
again God inexorably joins His prophetic utterances of the prophet to the
events unfolding before us. (Isaiah 40:3-5) If
you are preaching sound doctrine, sound truth, sin, repentance, and grace, you
will also be today as a Voice crying in the wilderness. You shall not find
yourself flocked about with souls of men and women starving and thirsting for
the pure Water of Life and Bread of Heaven. They have their own synthetic bread
and impure, polluted waters to drink, and they desire none other. But, to their
detriment, like Herod, Annas, Caiaphas, and Pilot, men do not seek refuge in
the City of God because they feel a false security already in their
world-favoring sin. In the Old Testament Law, the children of Israel were
commanded to establish cities of refuge throughout the land to which men guilty
of serious crimes could flee for refuge. Now comes to Jordan Waters the perfect
likeness of that City of Refuge in Jesus Christ. We are guilty beyond doubt. We
are murderers and sinners yet, God has provided a Refuge and an Ark for our
salvation! Flee to Christ, and He will receive you. In those ancient cities of
refuge, the gates were never shut – night or day, but always welcoming to the
refugee from justice who we all are. If we are granted justice, we shall be
condemned; but, if granted grace, we shall be accounted righteous and forgiven.
Then
said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of
vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Generation
of Vipers! Careful John, you are going to hurt someone’s feelings
by being so ‘judgmental.’ Or perhaps you recognize them for what God’s Word has
called them? Political correctness is the furthest thought from John. Here John
refers not only to the men who unworthily occupy the seat of Moses and of
David, but to the people at large. Israel has rejected God as a nation. Christ
tells the Jewish leaders that the Kingdom shall be taken from them and given to
a people bearing the fruits thereof. (Matthew 21:43) So do
we long to see the stone temple rebuilt and the daily sacrifices begun anew in
rejection of that once-and-for-all sacrifice made by our Lord? Has America
become a generation of vipers? Though there remain many devoted Christians
among us, have we given our powers over to evil forces in propagating every
immoral concept through our vast control of media? Have we used our national
resources to impose values on Third World countries that they would otherwise
righteously abhor? Yes, we have done, and we continue to escalate that policy
through the IMF and World Bank. Our national voice has often spewed poison from
our mouths (media).
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of
repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father:
for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto
Abraham. Fruits worthy of repentance have their birth in a broken
and contrite heart. (Psalms 51:17). Before repentance can come
nationally, it must come personally, for every nation is comprised of ever so
many hearts. The sum total of hearts measure the righteousness of the nation.
We cannot forever count upon the favor of God based on the Godliness of the
Founding Fathers, and neither can Israel count on their bloodline in Abraham to
merit salvation. Only those who possess the likeness of Abraham shall be the
children of Abraham – in thought, word, deed, and faith. The Seed of Promise
was only foreshadowed in his son, Isaac, born out of time of child-bearing.
Christ is the ultimate Seed of Promise and we cannot count Abraham to be our
father if we have not accepted the promise of forgiveness and salvation in
Christ. If the natural seed fail, God is able even to raise up children from
the stones. The promise is made available to all for the acceptance or
rejection of it.
And
now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Here
is the dire warning which we would prefer to avoid! We are all as trees of
either righteousness or unrighteousness. The axe has already been brought to
our place of standing. The Woodsmen sizes us up to determine if our fruits are
worthy of justifying our remaining in the forest, or has our hearts rotted away
and rendered us a waste of forest space. The axe is already about to swing at
our root – our character and testimony in Christ. If we have not been fruitful
trees, we shall be cut down and burned – and so has the moment of decision come
for this old Israel. Instead of works mete for repentance and mercy, their
fruit is bitter and condemning. Perhaps that axe hangs over the prairies and
alabaster mountains of American today as well.
Is there no remedy for our
national and personal sins? There IS an answer![1]
And
the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? What
shall you do to regain the favor of God? What can the nation do to re-establish
that favor? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats,
let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do
likewise. A greedy man cannot abide this counsel, neither a
man of fashion and sophistication. We covet our fine suits and robes. We are
fond of our full and elaborate pantries stocked with every dainty food and
cuisine. But even a greedy man (as Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ story) can be
rendered not greedy by one single quality – LOVE! This was lacking in Israel,
and it may be becoming scarce in our nation which mislabels sex as love and
value of persons by fame and money. I recently read of an occasion of more than
seventy years ago when an elderly missionary couple were returning from the
harsh mission fields of Africa. They had deprived themselves of a luxurious
home, fine food, and the benefits of society for the straw-covered hut, the
rough diet, and the inconvenience of living in a wild land for all of their
adult lives. They had given all they had of resources, health, and vigor to the
service of God’s less fortunate people. Now, broken and tired, their
continuance on the mission field had been deemed ‘unproductive’ by their church
and they were called home to be put out to pasture as an old work horse in its
waning years. As they began to disembark from the ship at the port of New York,
they struggled to drag their few belongings with them, but the crowds were
overwhelming and cheering. The old couple was prevented from leaving the ship
until a famous Hollywood celebrity, returning from a European cruise, had
received the adoration of the gathered crowd and had been met by his
chauffeur-driven limousine. When the crowd thinned, the old couple continued
down from the ship and awaited the next taxi. They waited alone because no one
took notice of their years of sacrifice. Is that LOVE? These two had given, not
of their extra coat, but their ONLY coat. They had given their meats and
received gruel for the sake of their service to God and man. Of what value was
the fruit of the Hollywood celebrity’s vanity?
Every man and woman has a
calling in Christ. It may not be as an active missionary on the foreign field,
but it shall always be a missionary in the place where you are placed whether
as a doctor, a lawyer, a butcher, a teacher, or a carpenter[2].
Whatever our calling, we must reflect the nature of a virtuous and loving
heart. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him,
Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which
is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what
shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any
falsely; and be content with your wages. We do not often think of ‘publicans’
(tax collectors) and soldiers as serving God directly, but we have the words of
John to suggest otherwise! If we deal in money, do so with honesty. If we are
serving our country as soldiers, we are to do no violence to any man
(unwarranted force or mean-spirited action). We must not take from the enemy
land that which does not belong to us, but we must be satisfied, as good
soldiers, with our pay allowance.
The people began to wonder about
John because of the beauty of his words. Remember, his words have been
entreating them to repent; and he has been warning them of the destruction to
come if they fail to repent. Today, most people would walk away, but these
people had enough presence of mind to know that he spoke truth in beauty.
Many today lack that discretion. And as the people were in
expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the
Christ, or not. When a minister or a layperson speaks the truth of
God, his words will have the force and power of God behind them.
John
answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one
mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. John
did not suffer that same vanity of many ministers. He discerned the thoughts of
the multitude and answered humbly. Here we see the greatest of all prophets
confessing his own inadequacy before the One who’s Way he was preparing. He’s
not even worthy, as a household servant’s role, to unloose the shoe latchets of
Christ. Do we stop to reflect that we have no merit whatsoever apart from that
imparted to us by Christ Himself?
He
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand,
and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his
garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. He
is the REFINER of Gold and Silver. His instrument of purification is fire. The
Fire of the Holy Ghost will purity those who are called and chosen of God. They
are made more and more pure through the refining process (sanctification).
Fire and Wind will be the choice tools of Christ at purging the wheat from the
chaff. He will fan the wheat as it falls to earth (from the Tribulatum) and the
chaff will be blown aside while the pure wheat falls to earth. The chaff will
then be burned as death and Hell are cast into the Lake of Fire. (Rev 20:14)
We will celebrate Christmas at
Christmas Eve Worship. Of course, Advent is our early celebration of Christmas
as well. Let us remember that our beautifully lighted and ornamented trees
represent that beautiful Tree of Life that came down to us a Christmas. The
Star top the Tree can symbolize that Bright and Morning Star that all Wise Men
still follow. Even the candles will remind us of that Light which led the Wise
Men and, later, burst out in the brilliance of the Day Star and the Sun of
Righteousness. Let us not forget to wish all we meet a very Merry Christmas
(not holiday)! There is no reason that we must abandon the joys and love of
Christmas on December 26th. We should clasp those to our
bosoms every waking moment of the coming year.
[1]
Simply put, the answer
is priority. What do we put first, to what standard
do we attempt to comply first? The
key is doing things right the first
time. We can only know right by God’s Standards as laid out in
Scripture. Right and Fair are two
words that do not necessarily mean the same thing. When we start doing what we believe to be fair in our eyes,
while disregarding what is right according to God, we start down a path that
makes Alice’s rabbit hole look quite straight.
[2]
CS Lewis observed a
Christian doctor, lawyer, mechanic or dustbinsman will bring more people to
Christ than many ministers, when they do the minister’s job is to help them
closer to God. We must therefore
all lead by example.
