Baptism and Communion
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. We're in our fourth week of our Home Sweet Home series where we're discussing the church. We're just taking some time to dive into what the Bible says about God's people, about his church that Jesus died for to make his. Much of scripture is about the church.
It's God's plan, his people that he's going to use to redeem as he saves through the cross, that he's going to use a people to spread that message, to see more people come to know him, that once you become a Christian, once you've placed faith in Jesus, your sins are covered by him, that you're a part of his church, and that he dearly loves the church, that he bought the church. And so as we've gotten into this and continued to study and try to decide exactly what we ought to grow in and begin to understand, we started realizing there's some things, some gifts given to the church, some guards, some defenses given to the church that we really needed to spend some time talking about together. And so if we don't understand the context, the reason why these gifts were given to the church, then there's a danger of us completely missing the point. And so for the next couple of weeks we're going to talk about, today we're going to spend some time talking about baptism and the Lord's Supper.
So baptism and communion, we're going to spend some time talking about the Bible. In the next couple of weeks we're going to talk about the Bible, we're going to talk about leadership, we're going to talk about church discipline. So baptism, communion, the Bible, church leadership, and church discipline that are all actually gifts given to the church for the good of the church, for the protection of the church, because Jesus loves the church. But if we don't understand the context, we kind of miss the whole point. So if I told you that my wife stood up and yelled, What are you, blind?
It'd be helpful to know context. If we're at a baseball game, that's fine. If she's talking to me about the outfit I've picked out for us to go on a date, suddenly context matters and my feelings are hurt. Not really, I'd just be like, what? But it matters.
So when you watch the beginning of a James Bond movie, I always loved how they would take him in, they would tell him, they would kind of brief him on who the enemy was, what was happening. There was this crazy bald guy with a cat, and he wants to take over the world this way. And it was like always really big things. It was never like, it was always massive global domination, global destruction plans. And they bring James Bond in, and then they would take him into this room, and they would show him all these like tools for this particular mission. This pin shoots a bullet.
Let me show you this Audi that I've put missiles in. It also cooks hot chocolate, and those buttons are next to each other. Do be careful out there, James. Like they would always bring him in and show him all these things, and then like, but that doesn't happen in romantic comedies. Like in romantic comedies where their friends are discussing like how to go on a date, and maybe they come up with this crazy plan of like, I'm going to talk in your ear, or this is what you need to know. So like in Sleepless in Seattle, when he's sitting with his friend, and he's talking to him about, I'm trying to get back in the game of dating, and I need you to coach me up.
It would be weird if he was like, well, I've got a pin that shoots a bullet. He'd be like, what? Why do I? And I've got a car that has missiles. It's like this, that's what, I don't understand dating anymore. Like I've been out of the game way too long.
If I need a pin that could shoot somebody, like what on earth? And there's a little bit of us that when we approach some of the gifts given to the church, if we don't understand the context, we're not going to treat them appropriately. We're honestly not going to appreciate them. So let me give us a little bit of context, the cosmic story that is found in scripture, so that we can understand that when Jesus gifts the church with something, the context in which he gives it. God designed the earth perfectly. It was designed for humanity to flourish, for there to be joy.
Like he gifted the earth with good things for man to discover and to create and for humanity to come together, male and female, and to create more life and to have dominion over the earth and enjoy it. And humanity rebelled against God through the leadership of Satan. That in the very beginning pages of scripture, Satan shows up and we find out that God has an enemy. And because God has an enemy and God loves humanity, humanity has an enemy. Sin enters the picture. God immediately promises that he's going to fix this.
He's going to redeem. And he's going to fix this brokenness. And what we're faced with throughout the rest of the Bible is that we are, humanity is, caught in a cosmic conflict. That there is an eternity. We were designed to live for eternity and that each of our souls will exist for eternity. Either united with God in heaven or separated from God in hell and that there is an eternal, an eternally urgent conflict for the souls of every human you've ever met.
And when God gifts the church, saves the church, comes as Christ to die for the church to make a people for himself and then he turns around and says, this is how you ought to act. This is how you ought to treat each other. This is important for you. This is important for you. He does that in the context of that conflict. If your grandparents or great-grandparents or your parents explained to you how life worked during World War II but did not explain to you that there was a world war going on, you might be a bit confused.
Because you'd need the context of the conflict to understand exactly why they lived the way they did, made the bombs and the planes that they did, rationed food the way they did, why so many males from the United States left and didn't return. If you didn't understand the conflict, you wouldn't understand. Christianity is not just a religion where we practice some ceremonies. It's a people redeemed by the blood of God to be made, to be saved, to be made into his people in the midst of this conflict. If a father hands his son a sword and says, wield this with courage and boldness and bring honor to our name, a tear rolls down his face and his son is eight and on his way to a picnic, that was highly inappropriate.
And a doctor should probably talk to that dad. If his son is 30 and on the way to a battle and his mom runs in or his dad runs in and says, I made you a bag of sandwiches, have fun. Equally not helpful. Maybe he'll eat a sandwich on the way there, but the sword would have been better. I fear that when it comes to things like, specifically today as we talk about baptism and the Lord's Supper, that we've begun to believe that the sword and the shield hanging over our mantle are there for decorative purposes. We've museumed them.
We've taken armor. We've taken weaponry. We've put it in a glass case and said, isn't it pretty? And when you read about it in Scripture, it was not designed to just be ceremonial. It was not designed to just be decorative. The way Paul talks about it as we're going to read today, the way Jesus commands it and gifts the church with it, it was designed for our good and for our defense against our cosmic enemy, which is sin and Satan.
The problem with us is that our culture, and because we're in our culture, us, don't understand the danger of sin. We don't understand the destructiveness of sin. We don't understand the eternal cosmic proportions of sin. So we think, ah, everybody's having sex. It's not that big a deal. We celebrate it.
Ah, a little bit of greed, a little bit of self-promotion, a little bit of, you know, like it's, you don't want to be too humble so people will run you over. You want to have some confidence and some self-respect, and we've dressed up sin and acted like it's a little bit okay. Or we'll act like, well, this sin's not that big a deal. When the Bible at no point ever Acts like sin is not a big deal, Jesus died for sin, and somehow we lose that. So today I want us to pull the sword and the shield from off the mantle and realize it wasn't built decoratively.
It was meant for something much more as we talk about baptism and the Lord's Supper. Let's pray, and then we'll jump in. God, we thank you that you actively went to war on behalf of your church against sin. That rather than destroying all of us who were your enemies, you were destroyed for us in a fight against sin. That you separated sin from sin. And God, we praise you.
We praise you that you made a way to destroy sin without destroying all sinners. And God, we praise you and thank you for the gifts that you've given to your church to defend her. The gifts that you've given to us to protect us from your enemy and our enemy. And God, I pray that as we study this today, we would grow in our appreciation and our valuation of specifically baptism and the Lord's Supper as we talk about it today. That we would quit treating it as a ceremony but actually interact with you in it. Proclaim the gospel through it and fight sin actively.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So what we've got to do in our time this morning is answer the question what is baptism? What is the Lord's Supper? And then physically, what actually is it? And then we'll talk about why.
How it helps us. Why it was gifted to us. Why God has blessed us with it. So baptism, we'll take baptism first and then we'll look at the Lord's Supper in a second. So we're going to be in Romans chapter 6.
We'll spend most of our time there as we answer the why question. But before we get there I just want to show us a few places in scripture, reference a few places in scripture and answer the what question of baptism. The first time where baptism is mentioned is John the Baptist comes baptizing in the wilderness. This is the beginning of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and John all talk about the baptism of John the Baptist. And John the Baptist baptizes which just means that word's a cognate rather than a translation. So a translation we take the word from Greek and we turn it into an English word.
A cognate because it began to have more meaning attached to it we just take the whole word. So baptism is a cognate which just means that's basically the word they used in Greek which is baptizo not a Greek scholar baptizo and we take that word and we just say baptism or baptize. The word meant in Greek originally submerge to dip or to sink. So there's actually Greek writing where a boat was sunk in a battle and the writing says it was baptized. So it wasn't like a ceremonial thing to save the soul of the boat.
The boat was in trouble and it sank. That's what it meant. And so we just have taken the word though as it's been Christianized and meaning more ceremonially but that's why we baptize one of the reasons why we baptize completely by submerging people fully in water. So we have that discussion on a regular basis with people. They'll be like okay I'm going to get baptized but are you like I got to get completely like dunked underwater? Yes.
One of my favorite ones and I mentioned a lot is the guy he said hold on a second you would baptize me he said yes he said as an adult yes by completely dunking me in water yes you just described baptism as we believe it we baptize adults by completely dunking them in water. The reason we baptize adults as we see in scripture is that it is for people who believe in the gospel. So John the Baptist comes baptizing a baptism of repentance the Jewish people at this time had Jewish ceremonial cleansing and you would clean yourself so you would step into a pool when you wanted to become Jewish and you would do a special washing ritual and that meant I'm getting rid of my sin and I'm going to be good. John the Baptist comes and says no you need to repent and I'm going to baptize you.
To baptize you. He was symbolizing that you couldn't do this on your own you're not going to be good enough you need to come acknowledge that you're a sinner and then receive grace and he says I'm baptizing with water but there's someone who's going to come who's going to baptize with the Holy Spirit. Jesus shows up and is baptized by John. John says you don't need
To get baptized I don't need to baptize you you need to baptize me John was acknowledging that Jesus didn't have any sin to repent of that he was in authority but Jesus says no we should do this to fulfill righteousness to point to the purposes of this so he's baptized and then Jesus his disciples baptized and then Jesus
Before he leaves after he's died dies on the cross is buried and rises again he tells his disciples this and this is Matthew 28 we'll have it on the screen Jesus came and said to them all authority in heaven on earth has been given to me go therefore and make disciples of all nations a disciple is someone who actively cognitively purposefully follows Jesus make disciples
He's talking to his disciples who've been following him so he says go do the same thing we've been doing we're going to talk more about this in a couple weeks baptizing them so he tells the church when someone is becoming a disciple baptize them that's why we as a church don't hold that any special person has to do baptizing we believe that Christians baptize when we have baptisms one of the things
We say to people is don't let this be the last time you step in this water prayerfully you're baptized today and then hopefully you get back in here with somebody else that you helped point to Jesus we believe that we're called to baptize baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit so that's what we say when we baptize we baptize you
In the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you so that is people who are going to follow Jesus are baptized we believe that believers are baptized as a public declaration of their faith in Jesus we see that modeled in the book of Acts where it says
Things like Peter says repent and be baptized it'll say when they believed they were baptized all of them believed and were baptized it is a I have chosen to follow Jesus my faith is in Jesus I believe the gospel and I want to be baptized so baptism is a public profession of faith where a person who believes in Jesus and is deciding to be a disciple
Is baptized by a Christian which means dunked in water completely as best we can every once in a while the top of the head gets away and sometimes you start coming back up you realize it's dry you go back we got to get the whole thing that's what we go for this is how we practice it here publicly to declare I believe the gospel okay why what's the purposes behind it Romans 1 so Jesus tells us to
We can stop there we're told to but then it could turn into just a ceremony then it could just turn into oh it's a thing we do you know we're Christians so like we try to be nice to each other Jesus says to love each other and then every once in a while we all get together and we dunk people in water we're Christians it could turn into just a ceremony but Paul's going to help us see some of the purpose behind it some of the life behind it some of the goal behind it
When Jesus told us to baptize so he's writing to the church and he says what shall we say then are we to continue in sin that grace may abound he's responding to something he just said which was however much sin you have Jesus has more grace so where sin abounds grace abounds all the more so then he answers a question in response to himself
If that's true shouldn't we sin to make Jesus his grace more amazing shouldn't I become a Christian and then say watch all the terrible things I can do isn't Jesus good his response no that's why some of you laughed that's kind of dumb don't do that but here's what he says here's the reasoning he gives behind this are we to continue in sin that grace may abound by no means
How can we who died to sin still live in it do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death if you have not been baptized I want you to listen as we go through this to help you understand what baptism is why we celebrate it why we celebrate it the way we do if you have been baptized I want you to remember your baptism because Paul in the midst of this
Discussion on sin says don't you know about your baptism don't you know what it accomplished don't you know what it was why you did it so if you have been baptized I just want you to take a minute as we walk through to remember your baptism and see the gift that God has given you in your baptism do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death
That's what we're celebrating at baptism that's why we take somebody and we completely dunk them in water what we're doing is we're symbolizing publicly that they are completely covered by Christ what he just said where sin abounds grace abounds all the more there's not a square inch of your sin that has not been covered by Jesus if you've placed your faith in Jesus there's not one thing that escaped
When you remember your baptism you remember that you were completely covered overwhelmed flooded by the grace of Jesus and then he says don't you know you were baptized into his death we always have this conversation with people when we go to do baptisms they're like is this ever like gone poorly and I guess what they're thinking is do people sometimes
Drown in baptisms like could I slip could I hit my head is there like a dangerous and my response usually is look that hasn't happened to us in years at least a couple like it's not that big a deal and then I'll go no I'm just kidding nothing bad ever happens in baptisms don't google it but there's this there's this this moment of like and there's supposed to be there's this moment
In your baptism where if you're completely covered by water you should you should realize if nothing changes I die I'm buried completely covered and this is the death of me if nothing changes baptism is a celebration of death our death swallowed up by Jesus'
Death our sin swallowed up by his grace so that when you're baptized you're baptized you're baptized into Christ and into his death don't you know you're baptized into Christ Jesus we're baptized into his death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father we too
Might walk in the newness of life if we didn't believe in the resurrection we would just get people together and drown them we wouldn't but that's kind of what Paul's saying he's saying just like Christ was raised you were raised so in this conversation
About sin he looks at the Christians and says remember your baptism don't you remember it you were buried in death with Christ your sin was overwhelmed by grace and just as Christ was raised you were raised that you might walk in newness
Of life five for if we have been united with him in a death like his we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin
Might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin for one who has died has been set free from sin baptism is a public rehearsal and proclamation of the gospel when you place your faith in
Jesus you're saying that when he died my sin died with him when he died I died with him and when he rose again I rose with him that my resurrection is certain through Jesus that's the faith that we place
In Jesus and that's what we celebrate at our baptism in baptism it's a proclamation of the gospel but Paul says to use it as a defense against sin that's what he's doing right here some of us
Feel like we can't help but sin sin controls us I would stop this it's just so hard I just wish I could quit
This I wish I could be free of this and Paul's response is verse seven for one who has died has been set free
From sin now if we have died with Christ we believe that we also live with him we know that Christ being raised from
The dead will never die again death no longer has dominion over him for the death he died he died to sin once for
All but the life he lives to lives to God so you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus
And in 5 and 6 we read those again he says for if we have been united with him in a death like his
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that
We would no longer be enslaved to sin you don't have to be a slave to sin anymore Paul says remember your baptism you're
Dead to sin it has no claim over you anymore Jesus died to set you free from sin which means that sin no longer
Claims you when God looks at you he sees Jesus his grace abounding for you in the midst of your sin you're already free
And you can actually be free from sin as Jesus works in you some of you feel absolutely condemned and if you're a Christian
Paul would say look at he stayed in the grave way longer than you did you were symbolically remember that you died and you
Rose with him the other thing Paul says that we get to use baptism for is a defense against sin and it's a defense
Against quitting complete failure it helps us endure it helps us stand firm verse five for if we have been united with him in a death
Like his we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his your baptism is a moment where you publicly physically declaratively state
I'm in Christ and it's done publicly physically and you make a big deal out of it so that you remember I'm in Christ
I died with him I'll rise with him there's a story in first Samuel of David who's out in the pasture he's watching sheep
Samuel who's a prophet comes to his family and says that God sent him there to anoint one of David's dads one of his
Kids one of his sons is king he's going to be king so they bring in the oldest biggest son Samuel was like obviously
It's gotta be him he asked God and God says no his sons get like shorter and and each one he's like well it's
Gotta be this guy and no no no no no no finally get to the end and obviously they're just standing around awkwardly because
Samuel goes do you have any more sons and his dad goes um yep but he's not here and basically with kind of a like
So can't you just pick one of these like he's he's like nope you need to looking the Bible says he was attractive so
That's nice he's got that going for him Samuel the God tells Samuel he's he's the king anoint him Samuel pours oil pours oil
On his head and says you're going to be king you've been anointed king of Israel it's an amazing moment and then you know what happens nothing
David has an oily head and he goes back to watch sheep he's like I'm going to be king and his dad's like all right
King go king it up around the sheep because you're still short albeit handsome now get out of here eventually he gets called up to play music for
The king the actual king that king tries to kill him a couple of times but it says his music was good so I
Don't know he escapes a few times he eventually becomes a leader of an army but throughout the story as you read for Samuel the story
Unfolds there are these moments where you're like oh David's going to die oh he's never going to be king oh he's run out
Of the castle oh the other king's chasing him the other king's cornered him like there's these moments where he's you're reading the story
Of David and the whole time you're going how is he going to be king how is this even going to happen in these
Moments where you doubt it but then you remember no no no no no no no no God anointed him and said this was
Going to happen I don't know how it's going to happen I don't know when it's going to happen it's going to happen and
Paul says Christian in the midst of the absolute terror and confusion of life in the midst of sin seeming like it is your
Slave owner I want you to remember that if you've been united with him in a death like his you will certainly be united
With him in a resurrection like his he says Christian look back to your baptism we know the end of there but we know
You're going to get there that's what our baptism gets to be for us that we get to stand firm in the moments when
We have nothing else to stand firm on when our faith doesn't even seem good we get to say no there was a moment
Where I absolutely believed this there was a moment when I stood in front of people and I said I trust when I rose
Again and I know the promises for me that I have been told by the God the king of the universe that when he
Died I died with him and that I can be made alive again and that at some point I will be made into the
Image of Christ this is what is going to happen for me I have no clue how it's going to happen but I know
For a certainty that if I died with him I will rise with him and my hope is forever in Christ that's what your
Baptism gets to be it was a defense against sin that so often attacks and leads us astray your baptism gets to be in
Those moments when you have nothing else to stand on you get to say no I walked into the water and I been covered
By Jesus the way the water covered me his blood has covered me he took my sin on himself and I'm free that's the
Gift of baptism to the church that it's an open public declaration of I believe this and in the moments when sin comes we
Get to say no I'm dead to sin and in the moments when fear and doubt come we get to say no I know
The end don't hang it above the mantle it's a weapon of defense given to the church to keep us from having sin destroy us
Because God knows the destructive tricky nature of sin communion go to first Corinthians we got to ask the same questions of the Lord's
Supper first Corinthians 11 it's on page 622 and 623 we'll be looking at first question we've got to ask what is it physically
And then we'll ask the question of what are we actually celebrating what why do we celebrate it why has God gifted it to
Us Paul's writing to the Corinthian church let me give you a little background you can read it at some point I'd encourage you to at the beginning of chapter 11 basically
He's talking to the church who when they would gather together they would say we're participating in the Lord's supper but people would bring their own food some of them would be full some of them would get drunk some of them would
Have nothing and Paul says y'all are doing this incorrectly this is not the Lord's supper let me explain to you what the Lord's supper is what it is what you're supposed to do
And that's where we're picking up but in the following instructions verse 17 I do not commend you because when you come together it is not for better but for the worse wait nope yeah okay I'm right for in the first place when you come together as a
Church I hear that there were divisions among you and I believe it in part I didn't want to read this but we've started that's why I'm confused this is what I was just telling y'all about so we'll just read it and then you won't have to later for I believe it
In part for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized when you come together it is not the Lord's supper that you eat for in eating that's
Where we get the term the Lord's supper it comes from the Bible when you come together it's not the Lord's supper that you eat for in eating each one goes ahead
This is where I thought we were starting for I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread and when
He had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you do this in remembrance of me in
The same way also he took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood do this as often
As you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the Lord's
Death until he comes what is the Lord's supper physically it is eating bread and drinking what Paul calls the cup what in one
Of the gospels Jesus refers to as the fruit of the vine so we believe the Bible doesn't tell us what type of bread is broken
To symbolize the broken body of Jesus that Jesus did this instituted this with his disciples the night before he was crucified that he
Broke bread said this is my body broken for you that he took a cup which is fruit of the vine so we believe
That can either be grape juice it can be wine it's a matter of conscience conscience and your context we don't squabble over that and
He said this is my blood poured out for you and a new covenant in my blood as often as you do this in
Remembrance of me Paul says some of you get full don't you have houses to eat in we don't believe this has to be
A complete meal we believe that it can be it seems like that in the book of Acts in chapter 2 that they got
Together and shared meals and they were breaking bread and drinking together we believe it is a part of a meal or it is
Set aside separately to celebrate this idea that Jesus' body was broken that his blood was shed we eat some bread we drink grape
Juice or wine and we remember the gospel that's what happens physically here's the point and Jesus also he says do this as do
This in remembrance of me he doesn't say how often we ought to we have recently begun doing this more often because we believe
It ought to be a normal rehearsal celebration of the gospel for us we used to do this very sporadically and we have changed repented
And said no we need to do this more often as a church but we don't think there's any specific rule we just know that when we
Do it this is the attitude we ought to have first it is a remembrance of Jesus again we've said this is a gift
Given to the church baptism is a once and for all reminder of the gospel that Jesus once and for all covered your sin
Communion or the Lord's supper is a continual reminder of our need for the gospel a continual reminder of our ability to drift into sin
Our ability to drift away from Jesus the Lord's supper is a continual reminder of the dangers of sin the deceitfulness of sin and
The beauty of the gospel but he says do this in remembrance of me you're not supposed to clear your mind you're supposed to
Remember a definitive specific time in history when Jesus was nailed to a cross when his body was broken and his blood was shed on your
Behalf first and foremost we actively focus our minds on Jesus as we take communion secondly it's a proclamation of the gospel because he says for as often
As you do this for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup this is verse 26 you proclaim the Lord's
Death until he comes we proclaim the gospel in this that this is for Christians who have placed their faith in Jesus to actively
Remind one another of this is what our hope is in this is what our faith is in that Jesus died for us that
His blood was shed for us that we actively proclaim the gospel it's also a participation in the gospel so he says this verse
27 Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and
Blood of the Lord let a person examine himself then and so eat the bread and drink of the cup for anyone who eats
And drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself when we partake in the Lord's supper we are proclaiming that we
Believe the gospel which is I'm a sinner continually actively in need of a savior and Jesus his body was broken for me and
His blood was shed for me and this is the sacrifice for me that I might be made right with God when we do
This in a callous flippant manner we are proclaiming physically that we believe the gospel and acting on a heart level like we do not
When we have unrepentant sin that we are actively walking in actively running from God in but then we're going to gather with his
Church and say I believe that I'm a sinner in need of grace but actively not be repenting not being honest not being open
What he says is that you're actively stepping to the table and partaking in condemnation not grace because grace frees us up to be honest about
Our sin to repent to reconcile grace frees us up to be open with our failures and when we're hiding or when we're not we're
Not even paying attention to what we're doing but we're just partaking in communion partaking physically rehearsing that we believe the gospel while at the same
Time physically acting as if we do not spiritually and emotionally acting as if we do not so we participate in the gospel you're designed by
God's grace to actively practice a reminder of your need for the gospel and in that moment to reflect so that you don't drift most people do not
Violently leave Jesus most people do not violently leave the church most people make one exception after another believe one lie after another begin
To disregard one Christian friend after another and eventually find themselves far away from Jesus and far away from his people and it wasn't
An active run it was a slow walk and Jesus says actively partake of the gospel Paul says do this often and in that
Moment review reflect think through and say where am I believing lies where have I begun to run from Jesus where do I need the gospel
Actively now is the question we ask as we begin to take communion together now I want us to read this next section because it is confusing and
Every time I'm hanging out with a church and a pastor comes to a really confusing part of scripture I get excited because I
Think maybe he'll explain that and then I'll stop being confused and then they skip it because they are confused as well and I
Get really sad inside so let's all read this confusing section together that I do not have a clear explanation for but I do
Want to point something out to us is that fair doesn't matter we're reading it we'll start in verse 27 whoever therefore eats the
Bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord
Let a person examine himself then and so eat of the actually examined yourself prior to doing this and so he's talking about observed
Judged ourselves truly we would not be judged we would repent if you actually saw your sin and knew how dangerous it was you
Would just repent and God wouldn't pass a judgment on you we would not be judged but when we are judged by the Lord
We are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world I believe there what he is saying is that discipline
The judgment by the Lord and the discipline comes in verse 30 that is why many of you are weak and ill and some
Have died Paul is saying best understanding I have of this text that God's discipline towards his church is that in a flippant response to the
Gospel as they partook in the Lord's table without examining themselves with unrepentant sin with flagrant unrepentant sin that God in his grace disciplined
Them through being weak sick and dying now if my understanding of that text is correct I woefully underestimate the dangers of unrepentance and
Sin that's the only thing I can take away from that if God is good and in his grace disciplines because he says you'd be disciplined not
Condemned God does not condemn them his grace still covers them but because he loves them his grace is active in making them weak
Ill and dying it seems as if Paul just said that God in his grace and love for them some of them died I completely underestimate
Sin because that sounds way worse what he just said is God loves them enough to discipline them and this is how far God
Is willing to go in his discipline of his people to keep them from being condemned my brother and I when we were growing up
We lived in Tennessee and we had a little little bit of paved area in our driveway and the way our road it was
Kind of a neighborhood road but not really because people were pretty spread out so people drove quickly through this stretch of road and
You couldn't really see one way or the other too well so my older brother Logan was like five and I was like three and we
Would ride our bikes in our driveway out into the road loop around and come back sometimes we would just ride back and we
Were not allowed to play in the road so we didn't when he was around or if we knew he was watching and then
When we thought he wasn't watching we would play in the road and I mostly was just following the leadership of my older brother as
He played in the road so my dad would bring us in he would sit us down when he saw us in the road
My older brother Logan believed he could talk my dad out of this because my older brother at the age of five was vastly
More intelligent than my father and he understood this and wanted to articulate that to my dad my dad because of his density did
Not realize that this five year old was a genius and was unwilling to be swayed by his son's logical arguments which basically boiled
Down to no I'm looking we won't get hit by a car I'm paying attention my dad would respond you are five no you're
Not you're just not you can't pay attention all the time your mom and I don't play in the road because even though we're adults
We can't pay attention all the time he would have this discussion my brother would continue no no no hold a second now and
He would say the same thing my dad would get to the point where he would say nevertheless regardless of what you believe you have
Broken this rule you have played in the road when I told you not to and I'm going to spank you and if you
Say another word I'm going to add licks which my dad would lay us down pull our pants down and use a bell that's
How he did it and you got a certain number of licks depending on licks it's a southern word that means hit with a bell
Clarify we were going to get licks that's what we called them how many licks did you get three all right like we would do
That so he said I'm going to add licks and he go two three four and then finally Logan would go and I'd be
Sitting next to him looking at him as a three year old like you are a complete idiot we could have already gotten our
One lick and been back out on the road by now you made this take way longer and added to my dad eventually would just
Bring us inside like he would continue to spank us and eventually we weren't allowed to play outside anymore when I read this text what
I am struck with is that God sees sin so differently than I do he sees a lack of repentance in my heart so
Differently than I do my father knew what it looked like for a dog to get struck by a car my father knew what
Would happen to one of his children were he struck by a vehicle and my dad loved us too much to allow that to
Happen it would actually be my dad's wrath and punishment towards us to just say fine get hit by a car fine Logan live with the fact
That your younger brother who was three and was following you was struck by a car because you got out of way and he didn't
Fine live your entire life knowing that you killed your brother or that you severely handicapped him fine live your entire life in a
Wheelchair because you won't listen to me my dad loved us so he beat us because he loved us and when I read this
Text what I want to say is no God no you can't you can't some people died because they wouldn't they ate communion no
And we might would all come together and say that's crazy and I feel like I'm a three year old talking to a five year
Old and going our dad is abusive what is wrong with him and among the council of a three and a five year old
Certainly the road seems wonderful and certainly we've thought this through so when God steps in and it says when you partake in the
Gospel when you remind yourself actively guard against sin repent realize the heinousness and the danger of sin so much so that he would
Make people weak ill and die all I know is when I read that text I don't fully understand it but I know I
Don't think sin is as dangerous as God thinks sin is I know for a fact when I read that text that a good and holy
Father that loved me so much that Jesus would come to die for sin see sin in an eternal cataclysmic light that I don't see
It in because I'm much more okay with it floating around in my life than he is he's so unwilling for sin to be present
In my life that he died for it and if he's willing to take a Christian home prior to them completely drifting and being
Condemned praise God take him home because God sees eternally the Lord's Supper was given to us as a guard you see baptism and
The Lord's Supper stand at the door for us they stand at the door on the way in that Christians would place faith in
Jesus and be baptized that Christians would be Christians actually have belief in Jesus before taking the Lord's Supper and they stand at the
Guard on the way out as we begin to drift they protect us but you see God sees sin so much more dangerously than we
Do I was recently watching a documentary called dangerous animals or something and I didn't really like it because it was just a bunch
Of videos of animals eating each other and lions would come around this pack of water buffalo and their goal was to get a small confused
Weak or sick water buffalo alone so that the lions could eat it the only problem with their plan was the large full grown
Not weak or sick adult water buffalo and these lions would come around a little one and these giant water buffalo they got the
Flat like helmet heads with the hook horns like this would just I mean murk a lion which just means harm them with their
Head that's what murk means you can do it in football they throw a flag now and throw you out of the game but
Still fun to watch these big water buffalo I mean would just destroy some of these lions could kill a lion one on one
And you are going the lions are going to get him there they surrounded him and all sudden these water buffalo would come streaming
In and just I mean throwing lions in the air it was glorious and God set up baptism and the Lord's Supper as guards
For weak lost small Christians who've begun to believe the lies that sin tells and he said no let me give you some defenses let me give you some things to lean
Into in that moment the best thing that small water buffalo could do was just get behind a big one but once you got
Behind a big one that's all you had to do he says let me actively force you to remember the gospel because if you forget
It if you begin to disbelieve in it you're in trouble and God sees sin so and God loves this church and he gave
The church baptism and the Lord's supper he gave it the Bible he gave us each other through leadership and church discipline we're going to
Spend the rest of our couple weeks talking about that before we get into mission as we look at how much Jesus loves his
Church that he was willing to to defend he died for her and he protects her Matt the Christ a communion with the body
Of Christ because there's one bread we who are many are one body for we all partake of the one bread we are all
Participating in the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus as we partake in communion and today if you are a Christian I encourage
You to remember your baptism so that you can say no to sin so you can remember and know your outcome that you who
Were buried with him will also rise with him and as we take communion I want us to remember Jesus that his body was
Broken for us that his body was broken for you that you get to participate in the gospel as you place faith in Jesus
That when he died you died with him and that his body was broken that his blood was shed so this room is filled
With people who believe fully that the only thing that makes us okay is Jesus repent don't hide be real about your sin and
Your weakness where you've actively been running from Jesus grab somebody who's in your community group grab somebody you don't know and say I
Need to talk to you because I've been running I need to talk to you because I've been acting like how un-okay sin is
That God had to die I need to talk to you I need to be open about this Jesus I need to talk to
You you died for my sin that I could be free don't let me let it hang around don't let me think it's okay
Don't let me don't let me dishonor the cross by acting like sin is small because it's not small rebellion against a holy God
And it actively seeks to destroy us and remove us from his presence and to kill us for an eternity and as we get
To take in communion we get to celebrate that that doesn't have to be true for us that Jesus died for us but that
We get to repent to be honest about where we're broken because our hope is in Jesus not in our behavior so as we
Participate in the gospel I actively ask you to remember the cross and apply it to your heart and if you're not a Christian
Place your faith in Jesus that your sin would be covered publicly be baptized to proclaim that I believe this and I once and
For all physically want to remind myself that this is true for me and gather with our church and begin to take the Lord
Supper as you remind yourself that I need the gospel and that sin is destructive but our God is good because he was destroyed
So that I don't have to be God we pray that we would approach your table in a worthy manner that we would rightly
See the gravity of sin that we would understand that these gifts you gave us were given in the midst of a conflict that
We would hold on to them that we would cling to them we would use them God as you design them to fight sin
In our souls to draw us into you we wouldn't hang them on a mantel and ceremonialize them that we wouldn't just make them routine
Thing that we do but that God we would stand firm in them as we stand firm in you God I pray that through
Your Holy Spirit you would lead us to repent so that we can fully celebrate in what the gospel has purchased for us which
Is our hope and our joy and our redemption that none of us are good on our own but that you died so that we
Could be free free from sin and free from death and have hope and life in you in Jesus name we pray amen
Apr 24
Prepare the Way
Transcript
Last week we looked at the fact that there's a problem when there are two kings. And so we saw how King Herod existed and some wise men showed up and said, Hey, we want to see the king. And he was like, here I am. That's not in the Bible. I'm just assuming that's how he responds when people say they want to see the king. He's like, kiss my ring, whatever the kings get to do.
And they were like, no, no, not you. Capital K King, the prophesied king, the king that was to come, the king that that has been promised by prophets, the king that's going to be an eternal king. And so Herod basically tries to get rid of Jesus. He tries to kill him unsuccessfully. Later, Jesus will die. And that was also unsuccessful because he didn't stay dead.
But he tries to kill him. And basically, we looked at our responses. We have the same options. We can, like the wise men, worship and submit to Jesus as king. Or we can, like King Herod, do everything we have to defend our own territory. And what we said was that kingdoms are militaristic, which means they advance at the expense of other kingdoms.
And so, like, I live in a neighborhood. If my property line expands, it expands at the expense of my neighbors. That's how it works. So if I walk into my neighbor's yard and I'm just like, yep, putting a hot tub here, my neighbor would be like, no, you're not. That's my yard. And I'd be like, that's my yard now because that's where my hot tub's going.
We just talked about this. Like, pay attention. And that's kind of how kingdoms work. Kingdoms could only expand at the expense of other kingdoms. And so when Jesus is standing in the Roman Empire and he says the kingdom is at hand, that's automatically a militaristic statement. And what we talked about a little bit last week is that we don't understand how kings and kingdoms work.
We just don't have a good grasp on that. And so we looked at some kings throughout history. And the way kings work is that they have rule and reign and they have absolute authority. That's very interesting to me to look back at just some earthly kings and the things that they got to do. King Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, he was a king in France. He built a palace at Versailles.
And this was like in France when they were wearing like knickers and like really awkward, uncomfortable clothes and stuff. And there's like pictures of him with like weird tight pants and like a giant fur thing hanging off of him. And so but what he did was he didn't like the sound of knocking. And so if you wanted to talk to him, you couldn't knock on his door. You had to use your left pinky finger fingernail to scratch. This is how you knocked on his door.
You scratched with your left pinky fingernail, which is just weird and arbitrary. But he gets to do that because he's a king. And so the people around him started growing that fingernail out longer so they could scratch better. And then you would scratch. This is a power play. You would scratch until he he let you in.
I look cool doing that. And that's what he's doing. He's just showing his power. They used to compete to see who would get to be the guy who would wipe sweat off of his face. It's like when he was out, like you was a good position to be King Louis XIV sweat wiper guy. That meant like he was showing you doing you a favor.
And he's just an earthly king. But that's how kings rule. They have authority and power and reign. And we don't get that. That doesn't fit into our American mindset where we're like, not no, heck no. Somebody going to sit here and make me wipe sweat and scratch on their door.
This is ridiculous. But that's how kings get to act. And so when Jesus shows up and says he's a king, what he means is that he has absolute authority. And so what we're going to look at is how do we respond to Jesus's kingship? If we are going to step off of the throne, if we are going to not like Herod fight for our throne, but we're going to be like the wise men and worship and surrender and step off of the throne. What does that mean?
How do we respond? And so we'll be in Matthew chapter 4, and then we're going to jump back to Matthew chapter 3. So, you know, just like you learned how to count 1, 2, 4, 3. We were in chapters 1 and 2 last week. We're going to be in 4 and then going back to 3. What we're going to look at, Matthew 4 verse 17, is what Jesus began, how he began his ministry.
So I'm going to pray, and then we're going to hop in and start looking at what the Bible says about how we respond to Jesus as king. God, we thank you. That we have the opportunity to gather together as church family and study your word. And we ask that your Holy Spirit would work in us to change us and to make us more like you. Help us to hear your word clearly today and help us to respond. Don't let us be cold towards it.
Don't allow us to hear your word and to walk away and to do nothing with it. And so we ask that your Holy Spirit would move and speak and change us. In Jesus' name, amen. Verse 17. So from that time Jesus, this is Jesus beginning his public ministry.
It says, from that time Jesus began to preach. He's proclaiming, saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And I think for most people in this room, we've heard something like that before. Or we've heard that said before. Or we've heard that kind of a statement before.
And I think for pretty much everyone in this room, we don't really know what that means. I know for me, like I hear that and I'm like, okay. All right, I don't know what to do with that. Like I don't know. I don't even really know what he's saying. So when he says, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
It's a lot like when they would send someone. Someone would go before a king. And we're going to look at that in a second. And basically it's, there's a kingdom coming. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. And you need to respond.
And so I think for us, we don't really get what repentance is. Repentance kind of has a bad rap. Like we don't really fully grasp what it means, what we're supposed to do with that. So maybe our best, when we think of this declaration, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, is like someone holding a sign that says repent. Like repent, the end is nigh. It's like, well, I don't know what nigh is, but that doesn't sound good.
Or like repent or you will perish. Like those kind of signs. Like I'm dirty and angry. Like they usually look like pretty unkempt. There's, my favorite is the like, repent, you specific person of this specific sin that I happen to be most angry about. So it'll be like, repent, you long-haired hippies.
And it's like, why, why just them? Like why, what you got against those guys? Or like they'll go repent at a specific type of people or a specific, and we just are like, okay, that sounds weird. It's like most of the time I think of repentance. Sometimes I'll think of it in, I'll either think of it in kind of the context I have in scripture, but any outside understanding of where I've seen this kind of declaration, I think of people like angrily shouting on a street corner. And so what we're going to do, if Jesus shows up and the first thing he says is repent for the kingdom's at hand.
Repent for the kingdom is here. I think we need to take some time this morning and figure out, okay, if that's how we respond to Jesus as king, if his kingdom's here and our response is repent, let's find out what repentance is. And so Matthew, who's writing this, doesn't explain much about that. He just says that Jesus declares that. Part of the reason he doesn't explain that is because he's kind of already explained it in chapter 3. And so that's how Jesus begins his ministry.
That's how he begins to declare what our response is. And we're going to jump back to chapter 3. So the beginning of chapter 3, if you've got one of the Bibles on the rows, it should be the same page. If you don't own a Bible, grab one of those and take it with you. That's our gift to you. So this is John the Baptist.
In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. I love John the Baptist. And we'll get to see why here in a minute, just from some different things. But he begins preaching in the wilderness.
That always just seemed kind of weird to me. Like someone rides into town and they're like, Hey, um, there's a guy. Like in the wilderness, like on my way in, he was yelling it. There wasn't a whole lot around. He was just yelling. Y'all want to go see what he's doing?
Seemed crazy. Could be fun. Like he's in the wilderness. And it really just kind of means not in the city. So like most people, when you had a message declared, you go to the city.
But he just stays out, kind of does his own thing. Luke's going to say that he wasn't a part of the religious establishment or the political establishment. He was his own thing. But he's in the wilderness declaring, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And so this is very similar as what he's declaring is it's when a king would come, when a kingdom was coming, it basically, they would send people ahead of them. And so they would show up to another castle or another kingdom.
And they'd say, Hey, uh, surrender. Cause Xerxes is coming. And he's on his tour day, butt kicking. And you can either be along that tour or you can surrender now before he gets here. So surrender because Xerxes is coming.
And so that's kind of what he's saying is John is declaring, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This kingdom is coming. And this is how you respond. You get to surrender now or you get to, to fight against this. And so it says for this is he talking about John the Baptist who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah. When he said the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
And I'm going to read that section of Isaiah to you really quick. It's an Isaiah 40. If you want to look it up later, I'm going to read verses three through five, just to give you the full extent of what it says when it's talking about John the Baptist, who he is. So in the wilderness, a voice cries in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert, a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up. Every mountain and hill be made low.
The uneven ground shall become level in the rough places of plain and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. So it was prophesied beforehand that, that John the Baptist was going to come and declare this. And what he is declaring is a king is coming. We've got to get prepared. You see, when, when kings would travel to certain areas in their kingdom, so it's inside their kingdom, they travel to certain areas, people would go before them and they would prepare the road for them.
So most roads, the Romans had some roads, but when they went to certain areas in kingdoms, there just weren't, there weren't good roads. So there was basically paths that people had walked down or maybe enough horses had ridden down and maybe some carriages. And it just, there were a lot of places where it was, you just kind of winded through what was the most easy way to go. And sometimes it was over things and sometimes it'd be a path. And all of a sudden there was a giant rock. And so people who were walking are going to move the rock.
They're just going to move the path around the rock and go down the hill and up the hill. And so what someone would go ahead into the area and say, a king is coming. We've got to prepare the king's highway because when he comes, he's not going up and down and around. He's got an entourage. He's got his army with him and we need to, to prepare the king's highway. And so they would go ahead of them and say, okay, a rough place places have to be smoothed out.
Big rock stones, trees got to be out of the way. We've got to build a bridge here. We're not messing with this. When the king shows up, we're not messing with having to try to go through this Creek the way y'all go through it. We're building a bridge here. And they would prepare the way for the king.
And so the first thing that we see about repentance, when, when they show up and say, repent for the king, for the king is coming. The first thing we see about repentance is that we actively respond, to Jesus as king, that we actively acknowledge Jesus as king. That's the first step in repentance, because they would show up and say, the king is coming. You change to him. He doesn't change to you. Your ways, your thinking, your system, your setup changes to meet his, not his to meet yours.
And so the first thing about repentance, the first way that we respond to Jesus as king, is we actively acknowledge Jesus as king, which means he's in charge. He has rule and authority and reign. And so you'll hear people say things like, well, God loves me just the way I am. And I love me the way I am. And so God wouldn't show up and make me change, because he loves me the way I am. And the truth is, that's true.
God does love you just the way you are. That's made evident for us throughout scripture. That's what the gospel declares, that God loves us the way we are, but he loves us enough not to leave us there. And so you're making a false dichotomy, to say that God loves me so much, he would never ask me to change, doesn't make any sense. That's not actually how love works. So parents that love their kids don't say, okay, four-year-old, nope, what do you want to eat for dinner?
Candy. Sounds great. That'll be good for you. Do you want to go to sleep? Nope. Cool.
Do whatever you want. That's not love. That's easier. That's not love. Love is, no, you're not eating candy, because that's not good for you. You can have some at certain points when it makes sense.
But that's not your whole diet. And you do have to go to sleep, and you do have to wake up, and we are going to send you to school, even though you don't like it. And when you come home crying, because school's terrible, we'll talk to you about, yeah, it's terrible. You're going back tomorrow. That's love. That's how love works.
And so, to say that God loves me so much, He would never ask me to change, no, what you're saying is, God actually has this vague, fuzzy love towards me that isn't real. No, God loves you so much that He's going to ask you to change. That He's going to step in and take away the candy sometimes, because of what's actually ultimately good for you. See, I heard somebody say this the other day, and I thought it was a really good way to think about this. A lot of times, we think about following Jesus like getting a cat. So it's like, I'm going to follow Jesus, I'm going to be a Christian, I'm going to be a believer, and it's like getting a cat, which is just, my life needs a little bit of something.
It's pretty good. It just needs a little something, a little bit of some warmth and comfort. And so, like you get a cat, like it's going to sleep here, go to the bathroom here, not really do anything else here at all. And then when I've had a bad day, I'll hold it in my lap, and I'll pet it, and it'll make me feel better. And, and then when it, when I don't want to pet it anymore, I'll just toss it to the side, and it'll kind of, we'll coexist. And a lot of people think that's what following Jesus is like.
He'll just be a good addition to my already pretty nice life. And, and when I'm feeling bad, he'll comfort me. And when I need a little bit of warmth, he'll, he'll add that and spruce it up. And I'll, I'll be one of those Jesus people, you know, like, like a cat person. And that'll be good. And it'll help me.
And if, if he starts to get on my nerves, well, I just won't pet him that much anymore or whatever. But Jesus isn't a cat. He's a king. And kings don't coexist. Well, they don't just provide warmth when you want it. It's not how kings work.
So I want to be, because I think it is helpful. If you get to decide what applies, if you get to decide from here, what's real and what's not real and what Jesus means and doesn't mean, if when the Bible is really clear and specifically talks about areas of sin, and you get to say, well, that's not really something I'm going to do right now. Or yeah, I get that the Bible says that, but, but God doesn't really know my circumstances or, or yeah, finances were different. Or yeah, if I had a little more time, if you get to do that, Jesus isn't king. You are. If, if I get to tell Jesus where he can and cannot operate, if I get to tell Jesus what I will and will not do, then he's not king.
I am. And the truth is, who I'm following, worshiping, proclaiming, and saying that is my king and is my Lord is not Jesus. So if on a consistent enough basis, you get to tell God what he will not do, what he cannot do, then you can show up here as much as you want. And you can be in a community group every time that y'all meet, every time y'all have normal rhythms to hang out and share food. You can show up here. And when we're singing, little tears can drip out of your face, but you're not singing to Jesus because he's a king.
I don't know who you're here worshiping, who you're here proclaiming. I don't know who you're acting like you follow, but if he doesn't get to set boundaries, if he doesn't get to tell you when to go and when not to go, if he doesn't get to lead, it's not Jesus. The first thing that happens when we begin to follow Jesus is that we acknowledge him as a king and a king has ultimate authority. That's why it's a very helpful question when someone wants to follow Jesus to say, okay, someone says, I'm ready to be a Christian. Okay. Are you ready to do whatever Jesus tells you to do no matter what?
If he tells you to move, you're ready to move. If he tells you to quit your job, you're ready to quit your job. If he tells you to follow him here, you're ready to follow him there. Because Jesus is a king. Kings don't coexist well. So the first thing we see is that we acknowledge, we actively acknowledge Jesus is king and we change to meet him.
We change our ways to meet his ways. Verse four. Now, John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist and his food was locusts and wild honey. He wore a garment of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist. The reason they say this is because this is weird. People didn't do this.
And his food was locusts and wild honey. Trader Joe's doesn't have anything on that. Like you think you're, you're green or you're like, I mean, I'm pretty sure that's gluten free right there. He's eating crickets. I don't think there's gluten in those. Like he, the first organic, there you go.
You want to be a proof text right there. If you need to prove to someone that it's okay to be like organic and farmer's market. There you go. Say John the Baptist. It's like John. Uh, so anyway, or belt camel's hair, leather belt, uh, ate locusts and wild honey, lived in the wilderness, yelled at people.
I just, I like John the Baptist. He's great. He probably looked like one of the duck dynasty guys, but more, more Jewish, darker, uh, then, uh, then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him. So everybody starts leaving the cities to go out to hear what he's proclaiming. They were going out to him and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. So people would show up, they would go, they would hear him proclaim, repent for the King is coming.
You acknowledge him as King. And they would actually walk down into the river where he was. They would confess sin in front of people. They would say, this is where I'm off. This is where I'm broken. This is where I'm wrong.
This is where I need help. This is where I'm twisted. This is where I need a savior. And then he would baptize them as they confessed sin. And so the, it says that all these people are going out to them, confessing their sin. And when he saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, let me tell you who Pharisees and Sadducees are.
These are the religious elite. These were the respected Jewish leaders. These were the guys in chapter two, when the wise men show up and tell Herod, there's a King. These are the guys he calls in and says, Hey, y'all study the scripture. You know, these are the Bible trivia guys. Like these are the guys that when you were talking about something, they'd be like, actually Malachi says this.
Like they would, those were the, these were those guys. And these were the guys that you asked Bible questions to. These were the guys that were respected religious leaders. It says, when they came out to him, he said to them, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come. Um, when we read scripture, there is some cultural distance between us and the people in, in the text. Um, so just to help us out, brood of vipers is, uh, would be considered a, um, what's a cut down, like a mean thing to say to someone.
I know you thought maybe that was like how they greeted each other. Brood of vipers. What's up? Like, no, uh, it was a mean thing. What he was actually pointing to was they understood when he said, you're the son, you're the children of snakes. But there's children of a snake.
What he's saying is, uh, you know, in the garden of Eden when everything was perfect and then a snake showed up and, and led Eve astray and Adam followed. Um, yeah, he's saying, he's saying that was Satan. He's saying you're Satan's children. Automatic bad team. They didn't appreciate this because there's a bunch of people. And then the religious respected elite show up to check things out, to maybe even be baptized.
And he says, you snake babies, you brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee? I love that. Because it means that repentance isn't about our behavior. Can't be. If he yells at these guys, it can't be about what I do.
These guys would have had the old Testament memorized at least the first five books. They brought Jewish children in. They would teach them the first five books. They would memorize it. And if they were good at that, then they got to keep going in school. So the first five books, you know, the books of the Bible that you have a hard time reading.
You know, the books of the Bible that we get to and we're like, all right, I'm going to read the whole Bible Bible reading plan, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, no book of John. I'm going to the book of John. They had it memorized. They were the religious elite. They behaved. They were moral.
They were upright. They looked up to them. And so what we would think, what we think repentance is, is come behave. Come be really good little boys and girls. Repent. Stop, stop being a bad person and start being a good person.
And if that were true, when the Pharisees showed up, he would have said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And the Pharisees would have shown up and he would have said, be like them. Follow them. They're the best. That's not what he says. He says, brood of vipers, who warned you?
And the air was let out of the wilderness. You know how the air can be let out of a room? It was let out of the entire wilderness. And what he declared was, it's not about behavior or good morals. Or being a good little boy and a good little girl. It's about something deeper and more real.
And that's what he says. He said to them, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit. This is verse eight. Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father.
I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the ax 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. You see, they thought they were good because of who they were. That's why he immediately says, look, they said, no, no, we're Jewish. We're the good guys.
We're the ones who behave. We're the ones who are more. We're the ones who know our Bibles. We're the children of Abraham. They thought they were good because of their lineage, because of their behavior, because they followed really well. They obeyed really well.
They kept the rules really well. And what he says is, God doesn't need you to behave. He doesn't need you to be a certain type of person, because he can raise up those people from rocks. He says, God can raise up children from Abraham, from these stones. And he says, even now the, the ax is laid to the root of the trees. You see, repentance is a root issue.
The first thing we do is we acknowledge that Jesus is King. And then we have to understand that repentance is a root issue. It's not a behavioral issue. The call is not come be good. Come behave. The call is come be systematically, systematically changed, irrevocably altered.
He says, it's a root problem. We spent some time talking about this when we talked in our, uh, idolatry series. And basically Martin Luther, who was a, uh, theologian in Germany, uh, one of the reformers. What he says is when he looked at the 10 commandments, he said that we don't break any of the other 10 commandments until we've broken the first one. The first of the 10 commandments is that you will have no other gods before me. God says I'm God and there are no other gods.
And Martin Luther looks at that and says, okay, we don't do any of the other things. We don't lie. We don't steal. We don't cheat. We don't, we don't defraud people. We don't murder people until we first decided that something is bigger and more important to us than God.
You see, a lot of times we get caught up in sin and we think that the issue is the sin. I lie a lot and I shouldn't lie. That's fruit. The problem is the root. If you have a tree and it has bad fruit, it's not the fruit's fault. It's the root's fault.
You don't buy a better fruit and staple it to the tree. You get a new tree. And so what he's saying is like, so we could both lie. You could lie and I could lie, or we could, we could both lie and we could be lying for completely different reasons. And we could, we could sit in our community groups and we could say, don't lie. It's bad to lie.
You shouldn't lie. But here's the thing. All we're going after is fruit there. We're not actually changing our heart. We're not actually changing the root of the issue. So let's say you're at your house.
Somebody calls you up. I'm like, Hey man. Hey girl. Hey friend. How about that? They're at your house.
They call up. Hey, I'm really needing some help with something. I'm kind of in a tight spot. Are you doing anything? Can you come help me? And you are watching television.
And so you say, because you follow really well, you say, yeah, I've really got some stuff going on. I've got some plans. I'd love to help, but I can't. My schedule is swamped. And you're, you do have plans. Sitting on the couch.
Schedule is swamped. These shows aren't going to marathon themselves. Um, and so you lie and, and you can say, I shouldn't lie. But the truth is you're lying to defend your comfort. But let's say you're in your community group.
You're hanging out with your community group and people are confessing sin and they're talking about how they need to change. And you're just kind of sitting there. Sometimes you get to where it's like, this person's going to talk about where they need to change, where they need to repent, where they need Jesus, where they need the gospel. And it comes to you and you say, yeah, you know, I just, I've been having a hard time reading my Bible lately. And I used to read five chapters and now every day I only read like two. And I just need you all to pray for me.
That may be true. But in this particular situation, you also have a current issue with pornography. But you don't want to talk about that. And you're, you're lying, but you're lying to defend the approval of the people in the group with you. And so we can stand up here and talk about, and they could stand up and say, repent, behave really well, and go after, don't lie, be a good person. But the problem is, your root doesn't change.
So we could talk up here and you could decide, oh, well, if I'm going to be a good Christian, then I need to, to have the approval of all these other Christians and I need to be open about my sin. And so really all you're doing is continuing to worship. Approval is just in a different area. And so John the Baptist shows up and says, this is a root problem. the goal isn't to be really good. The goal is to have your heart changed. So one of the ways to tell us is if we get caught in sin, somebody knows about sin, are we frustrated that they know?
Are we, do we feel bad because people now know about the problem? Or do we feel bad? Do we feel guilty? Do we feel conviction because they're sin and we're broken over sin? Or is it just that people know now? Is it just a problem because, oh, now I got to talk to people about this?
Or is it actually heart level change towards Jesus? You see, they, they behaved really well, but that, that doesn't help. Because their heart didn't love God. it loved a lot of other things. People thinking they were great. People thinking they were smart. Being the best at stuff.
Behaving really well. Putting God in their debt. You know where this shows up? We do a lot of the, um, come to Jesus and he'll make everything great. If you follow Jesus, then your kids will be great little kids. Or if you follow Jesus, then your business will work out.
Then your finances will be good. And so there's some people who, who hop into the church because they're making a deal with Jesus. They're contracting him out. I'll hold up my end of the bargain. I'll behave. I'll be moral.
I'll do good things. I'll vote the right way. Whatever that means. As long as you hold up your end of the bargain. That's why you have a lot of people in the church really mad at God because he's not living up to the promises that he never made. They've just contracted him out.
Their heart doesn't love Jesus. They're not in awe of a God who would step in and rescue them. They haven't changed the route. They're just trying to contract Jesus out. And that's what they were doing. We'll behave.
We'll be good. We'll do these things. And then when God, you show up, you have to love us because we behaved so well. So some people were like, I burned all my bad CDs. I quit going to R rating movies. How could this happen?
I've been showing up every time there was a Sunday thing. And I even started going to that little group. They talk about all the time. And now this is going on. And we're frustrated with God because we contracted him out through our behavior. I'll be good.
And then you pay up. I'll be good. And then everything else gets to be smooth. And John the Baptist looks at those guys and said, brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee? So they needed to repent of their good works.
So they were using to put God in debt. And they needed to change root level, heart level change. Then it gets good. He says this. We're going to jump back up. Verse eight.
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root. And every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So what he says is bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Not bear fruit and that leads to repentance. Not bear fruit, do good things, have good behaviors. And that is repentance. What he says is bear fruit in keeping with it. So when we repent, when we change the root, we have different fruit.
So like in my backyard, I've got like cherry trees that aren't like good cherry trees. They just drop little red things all over my yard. And that's the kind of the fruit that they have. And if I want an apple tree, I plant an apple tree. I don't try to change this cherry tree. Cut out the roots, put a new one in.
And here's what he's saying. He's saying that repentance leads to joy. That root change leads to a fruit change. That's the third thing we're looking at when it has to do with repentance. And it rhymes, so you know it's really important. Root change leads to fruit change.
And so basically, we so often think that God wants good fruit from us, and we work really hard to behave. We work really hard to keep it together. But the root hadn't changed. And here's how fruit works. There is joy in fruit. It's a process.
Cutting out the root is hard. It's difficult. It's painful. Repentance is not easy. But there's joy in fruit.
We don't understand fruit. They use fruit as an example a lot. We don't really get it, because if my involvement with fruit is like, I want an apple, so I go buy them. Like how I pick fruit is I get one of those plastic bags. I'm going to go pick some fruit. And it's super easy.
Like I can get apples all the time. I have no clue when apple season is, because I can always get apples. So I'm pretty sure always is apple season. I know when watermelon comes in, because you can't always get watermelon. But we don't get fruit.
And so like my dad, he plants fruit trees. I was at his house, and he was showing me his fruit trees, and he was like, look at this, look at this, look at my pear tree. See, it's got pears coming in. And I'm like, those don't look like pears. Y'all aren't going to eat those, are you? Like that's not.
And he's super excited, because fruit takes a long time. And you get excited when fruit shows up. See, root change is difficult, it's painful, it's hard, and then you celebrate when fruit shows up. There's joy when fruit shows up. And here's the thing. You have two options when it comes to hanging out with a church family.
You can pretend, because we don't get to see root. Shows up every once in a while, but we don't get to see root. Root doesn't show up on a regular basis. Fruit does. So you can go to the store, you can fabricate what fruit should look like, and you can staple it to your tree, and you can maintain that for a little while.
Or you can go through the process of having your heart level, deep level, root change, and then fruit will come. Because root change leads to fruit. That's how it works. And let me tell you something, if you're in here, and your heart hasn't been changed to love Jesus, if you haven't had a root change, keeping up fruit is unbearable. And very, very difficult. But if your heart's been changed towards Jesus, it's a natural thing that happens.
That we begin to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. So some of you are saying, I love Jesus. Deep heart level, I want Jesus. Let me tell you something, growth is coming. The Bible says we're predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, which means you're going to slowly look more like Jesus. And so for some of us, you just need encouragement to know that growth is coming.
That the fruit's going to look weird and odd, and you probably shouldn't eat it at first. And then it's going to continue to grow and continue to come, and you're going to continue to look more and more like Jesus. And for the people in this room that are just pretending, just hanging out, just trying to behave, just being really moral to get God on your team, you're going to wear yourself out, and you can't keep that up. So repentance is acknowledging Jesus as King. It's having a root level change. And then fruit comes.
Root change leads to us bearing fruit, which means we actually do begin to obey. We actually do begin to love things that we didn't used to love. We actually do want to read Scripture. When before you became a believer, you had no desire to do that. We actually do want to confess and repent of sin. We actually do find joy in that.
We actually do want to be with church family. We actually do want to show up early in the morning to hang out because we've been changed. We enjoy being around these people. Fruit is beginning to come, and it's not anything that we're working at or doing. So here's what he says.
This is how this is beautiful. Verse 11. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I. He's talking about Jesus. Whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
What he's referring to there is that you will be changed by Jesus, by the Holy Spirit. You will be a believer, and the Holy Spirit of God will come rescue you and change you, or you will go to hell. That is what he is saying. He baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear the threshing floor. That's where they would have wheat.
And gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. The picture there is that wheat has chaff, and wheat is heavier than chaff. And so you would take a big fork and toss it in the air, and the chaff would blow away, and the wheat would stay. And you would sit there and do this. And then you would burn the chaff, and you would keep the wheat. And what he says is, Jesus the King is showing up, and that's what he's going to do.
He's going to keep the wheat and burn the chaff. And they're all together, and he knows the difference. That's what he says. And here's how this is beautiful and wonderful. So you look at this, and you say, well, repentance sounds hard and terrible.
And yeah, I get the fruit thing, but that's far off. And how do I get to this root issue? How do I change my heart? He baptizes with the Holy Spirit. He changes your heart. You see, John the Baptist did something really weird.
He baptized people. And that was really weird. We've got a baptism coming up, and we're doing this because John the Baptist did this. And because Jesus, after John the Baptist, did this. But he baptized people.
And here's why this is really weird. That's why he's called the Baptist, by the way, because he baptized people. It would be the same as calling him like John the Baptizer. He wasn't like denominationally affiliated, just so you know. They had baptism, but here's how baptism worked. I'm Jewish.
You're a Gentile. You want to be Jewish. You want to get in on the right stuff. You want to start following well. Here's what you get to do. You get to step into a river, and you get to wash yourself, signifying that you're cleaning yourself up, you're making yourself nice, and now you can come join the right team.
And here's what John the Baptist did. It wasn't just for Gentiles. It was for everybody. So Pharisees were invited to be baptized, and Jews were invited to be baptized, and Gentiles were invited to be baptized, and he baptized because he was signifying, you're not cleaning yourself up. You need someone else to step into this situation and to accomplish this for you. And he said he's coming, and he's going to baptize with the Holy Spirit.
He's not just going to signify. He's actually going to do it. He's going to change you fundamentally. You see, John the Baptist was pointing that you needed help. You needed someone to step into your situation and clean you up for you because you were never going to accomplish it. And if you were religious and moral and good behavior, you needed to repent.
And if you were a sinner and you were out, you were an outcast, you were pushed to the side, you needed to repent. Everybody needs to repent and have Jesus wash you. You see, Jesus stepped on the earth, and he lived a perfect, sinless life as a king, and then instead of headed to a throne, instead of setting up his eternal reign like they thought he was going to, he died on a cross. And we actually as believers are washed by his blood. We are changed by his blood that was shed for us. You see, what he did was he took our sin, he took our religion, he took all the things that we've tried to put him in our debt and all the things we've tried to use to run from him, and he died for them.
He was crucified for them. And that as believers, when we're baptized, what we're saying is, I was buried with Christ, just like he was dead and buried, and I was raised again up by him, not by me. I've been washed clean by him, not by me, that my sin died with him, and that I've been risen, and I've given new life and righteousness by him, that Jesus swapped places with me. You see, the call isn't come be good. It's come have Jesus change you. It's not come behave, it's come be changed, have the root changed by Jesus.
You can never accomplish this, you can never work it out on your own, Jesus can, and only Jesus can. That's what repentance is. And that's why there's joy there, and hope there, and life there, because it's not about our ability to be good at it. Because it's about what Jesus has already done on our behalf. That we acknowledge him as king, and then we have him change us fundamentally. You see, there were people that, in their understanding, couldn't be forgiven.
They were out. They'd already failed, they'd already messed up, and the only way they could be back, was to be good again, to work really hard, to change their ways, and some of them were just out, like there's no way back in for you. And that's why all of Judea, and Jerusalem came out to him, because he was proclaiming, everybody can be welcomed back in. That's why repentance is really good news. If there is no forgiveness, there is no repentance. So what he's saying is, it'd be like if you ran away from home, or strung out on drugs, and somebody came to you and said, hey man, I was at your house the other day, and I talked to your dad.
And he said he wants you back. And you don't have to pay him back. You don't have to clean yourself up, and get a job, and get off drugs, and show back up respectably. He just wants you back now. In debt, broken, messed up, and in need of a whole lot of help. That's good news.
That you're welcomed back now. Most of us feel like, we've got to clean ourselves up, work really hard, and show up in a respectable manner, so that God would welcome us. And those are the guys, that he calls brood of snakes. We've got a lot of weddings coming up, in our church. A good bit of them. And I'm pretty excited, I like weddings.
I get to do premarital counseling, which is a lot of fun. Because you just get to talk to people, get to know people, get to ask questions, get in their business, annoy them. It's great. One of the things we talk about, in premarital counseling is, we're going to try to have a whole lot, of really awkward conversations now, so that they're less awkward later, when you're married. So we're going to talk about, how to argue, we're going to talk about finances, we're going to talk about sex, and the next time, y'all have to have a big in-depth conversation, about finances or sex, you'll think, at least Chet's not here, and we're not sitting, at a waffle house.
It's just, all together feels better, as a way to have a conversation. And so, but I'm really excited about it, and here's what I know to be true. At a wedding, so we'll stand up, we'll be at a wedding, and there'll be groom, and bride, and they'll be like decked out, and looking, looking nice, and like sweating, and freaking out, and they have no clue what's going on. And so, they put all this work, and effort into making this wedding really nice, and then remember zero of it, because they're freaking out, and like hyperventilating and stuff. But here's what I know is true.
I got to do, my brother's wedding, Logan and Elise, are in my community group. I got to do their wedding in January, and no one, no one was sitting there, while we were performing the wedding, and going, look at how great, a husband, Logan is. Look at him, crushing that husbanding. Nobody was doing that. He was in the process of getting married. Nobody was looking at him, and going, look, he's wearing a suit.
Check. He's repeating those things, that that preacher says. He's crushing this husband thing. Nobody's doing that. Because that's not the test of a good husband. I wish it was.
That'd be sweet. Can you put on pants? Yes. Can you repeat after me? Yes. Word for word?
Almost. That's not the test of a good husband. A good husband is lifetime, devotion, work, effort, repentance, messing up, admitting that you messed up, messing up again, waiting longer, then admitting that you messed up again. That's what, that's what a good husband is. A husband is proven, not in an hour of cleaning themselves up, and repeating after somebody, but it's proven over the course of time. As they prove that they love, as they prove that they serve, as they, you get to see, does this guy love his wife, by his actions over time?
And so the truth is, in Christianity, what he's saying is that your heart will be changed by Jesus as you repent. The root will be changed. It's not your ability to clean yourself up and to repeat some words. That's not how it works. That's not what following Jesus is about. That's not, that's not how this operates.
It's you continually following as you're changed, as you love. It's not your ability to be dutiful. So no, no husband on their 25th anniversary, like shows up with flowers and it's like, honey, 25 years ago today, I repeated words. And I signed something that's kept at the courthouse. And so I've stayed married to you because I signed something that's kept at the courthouse. And I've tried to be a good husband because divorce is bad.
And I bought you flowers because husbands are supposed to do that every once in a while. And I guarantee that 25 years from now, I'll still be holding up my end of the bargain. You're welcome. There's not a female in this room who just got teary eyed. And some of us are acting like that's how we follow Jesus. Jesus, I read your rules and I've been sticking to them.
And I'm going to keep sticking to them because I'm supposed to. And that's good. You're welcome. No. That's not how it works. That's not what we're called to.
That's not how the Holy Spirit changes you. That's not what marriage looks like. Marriage is love. I did the right things. I stuck around when it was terrible because I love. Because I care about you.
Because I'm willing to fight for this. These 25 years, we've been married for 25 years. Eight good ones. And I'm here. And I'm going to be here. Because I've been changed by you.
I love you. I'm going to be here. I'm going to do for you. I'm going to work for you. I'm going to serve. I'm going to do.
And that's what he's saying, that you have a heart level, root level change, that you love Jesus. And you're like, this is difficult. And this is hard. And you're king. And I'm going to follow. And I'm going to be here.
Because you've changed me. Because you died for me. Because you've rescued me when I didn't deserve it. Because repentance is your grace that I can be forgiven. That I'm not out. And I'm not too far gone.
I'm not too broken. And that's what the call is to follow Jesus as king. He shows up and he doesn't coexist well, but he loves greatly. And he died to rescue us and to make us his. And that means we change. Because he changes us.
Because on our good days and on our bad days, he paid for our sin. Period. Period. And it's not about our ability to behave or to be good. It's about what he's done for us. And the invitation is for everyone to repent.
Band's going to come back up here and here's what we're going to do. We're going to do something differently from what we've done in the past than what we do on a regular basis. The invitation always, as we follow Jesus, is an invitation to repentance. It's an invitation to see where Jesus is king and where we're not following well and to change. To acknowledge that we're broken, to acknowledge that we're messed up and that we need him. And so we always have opportunities for repentance.
We gather together in our community groups for repentance. But specifically today, John the Baptist and Jesus both begin by declaring, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus is a king and he does have a kingdom and our response is repentance. Which is acknowledging that he's king. Acknowledging, confessing sin where we're broken and where we're off and knowing that we get to because of what he's already done. That he has died for us and that he will change us at a root level.
He won't just help you behave, he'll change your heart. And so the people in this passage came from their cities and they would stand on the bank of the Jordan and then it says they would come down into the water and they would confess sin and they would be baptized. And they were overjoyed at the fact that they were welcomed in. See, they thought they were out. They thought there was no way they could be good enough. Some of them were overjoyed that they'd been working really hard to prove themselves and they didn't have to.
That it wasn't about their ability to clean themselves up. So here's what we're going to do today that's different than what we usually do. We're actually going to, as we sing this last song, you're going to come out from your chair and you're going to come here and you're going to confess sin and talk to Jesus. So we've got a baptism coming up, Raz mentioned it earlier, we've got a baptism coming up October 19th which is where we're going to get together and celebrate that repentance is still offered to us and that Jesus died on our behalf and that we can have life and hope and joy in him. That he'll change our root and that we'll begin to bear fruit and begin to grow and begin to have joy as we follow him.
But see, they would walk down into the water and they would confess sin and I want to offer us the same opportunity to come down. If you come out from behind your chair and you walk up here, everyone in this room will know that you're a sinner and everyone in this room is a sinner who needs Jesus and we will celebrate that Jesus still saves, that he still rescues, that he still changes hearts, that it's not about our work or our effort or our goodness, it's not our ability to stick, our ability to be great and that we're not too far gone. So as we sing this next song, the invitation is to do exactly what they did over 2,000 years ago, which was to walk down and confess, I need Jesus. I'm a sinner.
I need help. I need to be welcomed back in. The invitation is repent for the kingdom is at hand. There is a king and he is good and he did give up his throne to go to a cross so that we could be welcomed in. So that's what we're going to do.
Maybe some Christians in this room and you need to confess, you need to repent, you need to talk to Jesus. There may be some people in this room who've been pretending, you've been working really hard, you've been taking all the time and effort it takes to staple fruit to a tree. You need to ask Jesus to change your heart. And then, on October 19th, we'll do exactly what they did and we'll baptize and celebrate that Jesus is alive and that he saves and that he works and that he does his will and that he changes us. So y'all stand.
Let's sing. And don't fight it. You need to come confess, you need to come repent. It's open. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. We are invited in.
God, we thank you for your grace. We ask you that your Holy Spirit would move, that you would continue to change us, to draw us to yourself. God, that you would keep us as you change our hearts, pull us towards you. Lead us all into repentance, God, as we respond to you as king. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.