Scripture Reading: Luke 3:1-14
John the baptizer came heralding the Messiah and he prepared the hearts of the people of Israel by calling them to repentance. They demonstrated their repentance by being baptized in the Jordan River.
The announcement of the coming Messiah took place, not in the temple, nor even in Jerusalem, but it was delivered by a "voice, crying in the wilderness." John was an echo of Elijah, with plain clothes and eating locusts and wild honey. Nevertheless, he was very popular. Matthew says that "all Judea" went out to hear John (Mt 3:5).
When the Pharisees and Sadducees showed up, John was not exactly welcoming to them. "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance" (Lk 3:7,8; cf. Mt 3:7,8). John then outlines for people what true repentance looks like in everyday living (Lk 3:10-14).
What this passage teaches us about the nature of repentance is this. Genuine repentance results in a changed life. This is what John meant when he referred to the "fruit of repentance." The man whose life is characterized by selfish and stubborn disobedience to God's truth will bear God's wrath in the day of judgment. His life will give ample evidence that he has not truly repented of his sins. He continues to pursue them.
Repentance is not simply a hand raised in a church service ... an aisle walked ... words spoken in a prayer. By God's grace it is a genuine and actual turning from sin, the evidence of which is a changed life and a seeking after eternal things. No one is saved on the basis of such seeking ... and no one does this perfectly ... but no one is saved without such seeking.
