sign in sign up
<<
Home , Matthew 3

TEXT: Matthew 3:1-12 THEME: A Lifestyle of Repentance DATE: December 4, 2016 Advent 2A

In the Name of who calls sinners to repentance, Dear Christian Friends,

A person’s lifestyle speaks volumes about who that person is. If a person’s lifestyle gravitates toward rural living such a person will be noticeably different than a person who has lived in the city all their life. was certainly a person who came from a rural lifestyle. He didn’t live in a comfortable city home. He lived out in the desert -- the remote area near the . His diet wasn’t fast foods or frozen pizzas, but locusts and wild honey. His appearance didn’t sport a Nike swoosh or an Under Armor emblem. His appearance was anything but typical. His strange looking clothes of camel’s hair were rough and scratchy, but affordable, durable and available. John the Baptist, the person, was indeed a man of unusual character.

From a preacher’s point of view, he was also a bit unusual. Most preachers I know try to get people into church. John, however, wanted to preach to people who were not in church. You see, John’s worship center was out in the desert. John’s pulpit was most likely not made of finely polished oak like ours, but very possibly a broken off rustic tree stump or a lonely rock protruding from the ground. His message was not the usual work righteousness that so many preachers of his day were peddling. John preached a message of repentance and a baptism for the forgiveness of sins. He told people about their sin and the Savior who would remove that sin. While John, the preacher and the person, might have been a bit unusual, the people were very interested in his message as they flocked out into the desert to listen to him.

As John preached to the many people it became apparent that there was a re-occurring theme to his message. John’s message from God’s Word spoke sharply against hypocrisy. He wanted nothing to do with a religion that looked good on Sunday morning but meant nothing during the week. He couldn’t stomach the kind of religion that made a good show for the festivals but didn’t really bring people closer to Jesus as their Savior. When he saw the and coming to listen and check out his message, he wasn’t afraid to expose them for their play-acting religion and call them to repentance.

We still need that message today. It’s all too easy for us to fall into the habit of just going through the motions and performing our religious duty every week, or once a month, or just at the festivals – Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. It’s just as easy for us as it was for those in John’s day to forget that true faith is to be taken home and put into practice every day. Today the Word of God reminds us that our Christian faith leads us to a LIFESTYLE OF REPENTANCE. That means that we 1) put our sins behind us every day and 2) keep Jesus our Savior before us every day.

1. Putting our sins behind us every day John’s message was simple: REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR. The word repent literally means “to have a complete change of mind.” It’s what you do when you are driving your car to the theater to see a movie, but then change your mind, rent a video and watch a movie at home instead. You turned your car around and drove in the opposite direction. To repent of our sins is to change our heart and mind about sin. And with that change of heart and mind comes a corresponding change of action or direction. This change of heart and hands can only be worked in us by God through his Word. Concerning the power of the Word to crush hearts of sin, God himself says, “Is not my word like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces?” ( 23:29). From the original Greek language we know that this changing of the heart isn’t a one time thing, but an ongoing action; an ongoing, repetitive changing of the heart. The people in the desert knew exactly what John was preaching. His message was simple: “Repent and keep on repenting. Don’t stop.” Repentance isn’t like play acting. Repentance isn't something we do just when we think people are watching. Repentance isn’t something we do only on the days we go to church. Repentance isn’t something we do only during Advent or Lent. Changing our mind about our sins or repenting of our sins not only means that we feel bad because we got caught doing something wrong, but it also means that we don’t ever want to commit those same sins again. Repentance as a lifestyle produces true honesty that sees not only the wrong we do but also sees the good we fail to do. Anything less is just play-acting our religion. Repentance is an every day action that takes place in the heart by the power of God’s Word. Repentance is a lifestyle. Calling the Pharisees to repentance John was not shy when it came to telling the Pharisees that their religion was only play acting. John said to them: YOU BROOD OF VIPERS. You bunch of snakes! All you are are deceivers. You see the Pharisees made themselves out to be the super-religious people among the Jews. Their lives were full of outwardly good deeds. They came to church every week. They gave ten percent of their income. They gave to the poor. They prayed in church and on the street. They were respected and admired by their peers. But John told them that they would go to hell because all their outward religion was just an act and their faith was a sham. In their hearts they were not repenting. They were not confessing their sins and believing in God’s love and free forgiveness. They put their eternal hope in themselves instead of keeping Jesus before their eyes each and every day. So their presence in the desert was that of a religious show, not religious substance.

Calling us to repentance Is our religion ever like that of the Pharisees, a show, an outward action, just play acting? We need to ask ourselves, “Why are we hear today?” Are we here today because we don’t want the cold shoulder treatment from our spouse for missing another church service? Are we here today because our parents made us come to church? Are we here today so that we don’t get a visit from an elder or one of the pastors?Are we here today because we think we will have an"in" with God by coming to church more than the next person? Are we hear today to fulfill our religious quota for the week or month? Are we hear in body only, while our mind is wandering off somewhere else? Do we just go through the words of the liturgy, the confession of sins, the Lord’s Prayer and not really think about what we’re saying? Is our worship just play-acting? The same type of questions could be asked about Christian education. “Why do we send our children to a Lutheran Elementary Grade School or enroll them in Sunday School or Catechism Classes?” It is because we believe a little religion never hurt no body? Why do we ask our children to memorize passages but rarely find ourselves reading our at home or attending a Bible class? When was the last time your children saw Mom and Dad reading their Bible at home? Do we feel that we have fulfilled our lifetime quota of Christian education from our pastor’s catechism class and we’re set for life? If any of these situations describe us then our religion might be like that of the Pharisees, play-acting. If these describe us then we need to hear John’s call to repentance and put our sins behind us each and every day. God wants our repentance to be a lifestyle of faith; a lifestyle that not only puts sin behind us but also, and more importantly, keeps Jesus before us. 2. Keeping our Savior before us every day Putting our sins behind us in true repentance and faith is only part of the Christian’s faith life. Once our sins are put behind us, God wants us to keep our Savior before us every day with the . That’s what John did for those gathered in the desert. John held the Savior out before them by saying: I BAPTIZE YOU WITH WATER FOR REPENTANCE. BUT AFTER ME WILL COME ONE WHO IS MORE POWERFUL THAN I, WHOSE SANDALS I AM NOT FIT TO CARRY. HE WILL BAPTIZE YOU WITH THE AND WITH FIRE. Pointing the desert crowd to Jesus John points the desert crowd to Jesus as their only Savior. Right after the people had confessed their sins, John baptized them giving them true faith for repentance. The most important part of repentance is faith: faith in Jesus, faith that God loves us, faith that God freely forgives all our sins for Jesus’ sake. God does forgive. Whenever we read our Bibles, God says to us, “Take heart, your sins are all forgiven.” Whenever we think of our baptism, we are reminded of God’s promise that as long as we live he forgives us for all our sins. Whenever we take the Lord’s Supper Jesus says to each and every one of us, “This is my body, this is my blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins”. The most important part of repentance is keeping the Savior and his love before us every day. Keeping Jesus before us Are we keeping Jesus before our eyes as we prepare for his return? Keeping Jesus before us is much more than a once-a-week, once-a-month, or once-a-year thing. It’s much more than a one act play. Keeping Jesus before us is hearing again and again what he did to save us sinners from hell. He lived an absolutely perfect life for us. Jesus never play-acted his faith in keeping his heavenly Father’s will. Jesus wasn’t just going through the motions when he hung on the cross. He went to the cross because of our play- acting religion. He died because of our sins. And Jesus certainly wasn’t play-acting when he rose for the dead. Because Jesus did all of this with sincere love for each and every person we will want to keep him and his forgiveness before us as we wait for his return. Keeping Jesus before others Keeping Jesus before us is not only hearing for ourselves what he has done. But keeping Jesus before us also means telling others what he did for them. John wasn't content to just let the Pharisees continue in their sin. No, he spoke to them about their sin and God's forgiveness. Does our love for souls give evidence to God and others that we’re keeping Jesus before our eyes? When Jesus is before our eyes his name will be on our lips. If it’s not, then our faith might be nothing more than a one act play. When was the last time we spoke of Jesus’ name, his love, his mercy in presence of an unchurched person? Was it at work? At a holiday family gathering? Or can’t we remember? When was the last time we actually invited some to join us for worship? When was the last time we told someone that we are 100% sure we are going to heaven when we die and they can be just as sure? Only those who see their repentance and faith as more than a one act play will keep Jesus before themselves by telling others about him. We need to pray that God would make our faith life much more than just a one act play. Jesus is coming – Be Ready! Keeping Jesus before our eyes is extremely important because John’s words remind us and all people that Jesus will return to judge all the world. says: HIS [Jesus’] WINNOWING FORK IS IN HIS HAND, AND HE WILL CLEAR HIS THRESHING FLOOR, GATHERING HIS WHEAT INTO THE BARN AND BURNING UP THE CHAFF WITH UNQUENCHABLE FIRE. The time when Jesus will come to judge us is very near. The day of our death marks the end of our time of grace to repent, believe and be saved. It is the day of our judgment. The Bible says, “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The Lord has already come and judged all the people in the desert including the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Lord has already come and judged John himself. When will the Lord come for you? When will the Lord come for me? Because we don’t know when the Lord is coming for us, we will want to make our entire life, each and every day, even every moment, one of true repentance and faith. What will the Lord find when he comes again? A company of play actors or a flock of truly repentance sinners trusting in Jesus as their Good Shepherd? May God grant that our faith life be always and forever a lifestyle of repentance. Amen