A Baptism of Fire

Years ago there was a long-running correspondence in The Times on the subject ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ And people wrote in with all sorts of ideas. Some said it was poverty – if only we could raise peoples’ standard of living, they’d live better. Some said it was bad education – if only we could raise peoples’ standard of thinking, they’d live better. Well, finally, the writer G.K.Chesterton wrote in with his answer to what’s wrong with the world. His letter read:

Dear Sir,I am.Yours sincerely,G.K.Chesterton

And he wrote as a Christian who accepted the Bible’s diagnosis – which is: that human beings have turned away from letting God rule the way we live, to living as we see fit. And that as a result, we end up in self-centredness and in collision with one another. And we can’t solve that problem; we can only contain it – by things like law-making. So, eg, we have tax laws to make us redistribute wealth. But that only contains the problem; it doesn’t make us generous – witness: the person who wrote this anonymously to the Inland Revenue: ‘Dear Sir, Last year I underpaid my tax and have become unable to sleep with it on my mind. I therefore enclose a cheque for £2,000. If I find I still can’t sleep, I will send you the balance.’

We can only contain the problem of human nature; only God can change it. And that’s the message of our part of Luke’s Gospel this morning. So would you turn in the Bibles to Luke 3. Two weeks back we re-started a series in Luke. By the end of chapter 2, Luke has described the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, and told us that John’s role would be to get people ready for Jesus, to explain their need of Jesus. And now at the start of chapter 3, we meet John again as he begins his public ministry. So look down to Luke chapter 3, v1:

1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. (vv1-2)

And you can find all those names outside the Bible, in writing and inscriptions of the time – which shows we can trust Luke for historical accuracy. So what was John’s message? Well, he said:

Firstly, WE NEED TO REPENT AND BE FORGIVEN (vv1-14)

Look at v3:

3[John] went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Now we’ll leave aside his baptising for a moment; because the main thing he did was to call people to repentance – so we need to be clear what that means. And it’s not just a word you meet in the Bible. I heard it several times during the MPs’ expenses scandal, with reporters saying things like, ‘He’s admitted to claiming for such and such (the duck house or whatever it was), and has paid it back. But because he’s arguing that the claim was within the rules, people are saying he’s shown no real repentance.’ And what they mean there by repentance is being and saying sorry. But in the Bible, repentance is much more than that. The word basically means ‘turning’ – which begs the question, turning from what to what?

Well, here’s one definition I found: ‘Repentance is turning from doing what you know is wrong to doing what you know is right.’ Which sounds a good definition, because it’s saying ‘Repentance is more than just being and saying sorry for your behaviour; it’s about changing your behaviour.’ But it’s actually a bad and misleading definition of repentance, for the simple reason that, as the Bible and experience teach us, we can’t change ourselves. Remember what’s wrong with the world? ‘Dear Sir, I am.’ And we can only contain that problem; only God can change it.

Which is why in the Bible, repentance means turning to God in order to be changed by God. We can’t turn away from our wrong behaviour unaided. All we can do is turn to God and say, ‘I should have been letting you rule my life; I haven’t been; please forgive me; and please enable me to change and live for you from now on.’ That’s repentance – it’s the attitude to God that starts the Christian life, and which is then the heart of the Christian life.

So, back to v3. Now what’s the baptism bit about? Well, it was just a visual aid involving water. We don’t know whether John dunked people in the River Jordan, or whether they just stood at the edge and had water poured on them. It doesn’t matter. Whichever it was, he used water as a visual aid of what they needed God to do for them. One of the main things we use water for is cleaning – everything from getting muddy footprints out of a carpet, to flushing out a radiator system so that it works properly again. And John’s baptism was just a visual aid of the spiritual cleaning we need God to do on us – everything from forgiving our past (washing away our morally dirty footprints) to flushing sinfulness out our spiritual systems so that we want to live properly for him.

So, we need to repent and be forgiven. And next, Luke underlines why – by quoting from Isaiah in the Old Testament (OT). Look at v4:

4As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6And all mankind will see God's salvation.' " (vv4-6)

That’s from Isaiah 40.3-5, where Isaiah starts to prophesy about what God is going to do at the End of time. And he’s saying, in picture language, that at the End, God will step in to put right what’s wrong with the world – v5, to straighten things out, so that, v6, all mankind will see the result. So the big question is: which side of that straightening-out process will you and I find ourselves on? Because Isaiah was pointing forward to a time when God’s Christ or Messiah would step in as Judge and divide everyone who’s ever lived – into those who did turn to God as King and those who didn’t. And the eternal destiny of each of us will be on one side of that divide or the other. And Luke is telling us that Jesus was the Christ that Isaiah was talking about, and that John the Baptist was the ‘voice’ of v4, who came to prepare the way for Jesus – ie, to explain our need of Jesus. And we need him because unless we turn to him for forgiveness and a new start with God in his rightful place, we will end up on the wrong side of that eternal division of heaven and hell. And when we’re talking to people about the gospel – eg, if you’re leading a Christianity Explored group – we have to follow in John’s footsteps and talk about sin and judgement – even though we find that hard and naturally shrink from it. But otherwise Jesus and what he came to do will make no sense to people.

So that’s why we need to repent. Then John makes sure people understand what repentance really is – and isn’t. Look on to v7:

7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptised by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath [ie, God’s judgement at the End of time]? (v7)

Now the biggest crowd of inquirers I’ve spoken to was at the last university mission I did, with 500 people there. And it never occurred to me to say anything like that. You know, ‘You brood of vipers... oh, and do come back tomorrow to hear more.’ But John knew he was speaking to Jews who, by and large, were not living as God’s Word called them to, and yet felt sure they’d escape his judgement because of their pedigree – ‘After all,’ they’d have said, ‘We’re God’s chosen people; we’re descendents of Abraham.’ So they already felt secure before God, but were happy to come and be baptised for extra security. And John says, ‘You’re like snakes trying to get away from a bush fire – interested only in the self-centred question, ‘How can I escape danger, how can I escape judgement?’ rather than the God-centred question, ‘Am I treating God properly?’ And even as Christians we still find that horrible kind of self-centredness within us – still find we’re more interested in being forgiven our sins than in stopping sinning. Eg, when we confess our sins in prayer, what’s uppermost in our minds? Is it the grief we’ve caused our consciences – and the desire to have them relieved? Or is it the grief we’ve caused God – and the desire to avoid grieving him again in the future?

So real repentance is God-centred. But it’s also visible. It’s not just an inward attitude to God (although that’s where it starts); it bears ‘fruit’ in outward godly living. Look on to v8. John says to them:

8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." (vv8-9)

Ie, ‘The question is not, ‘Are you descendents of Abraham?’ (or in today’s terms, ‘Do you come from a good Christian home?’ ‘Are you a long-standing church-attender?’) No, the question is: ‘Is there visible evidence that you really have turned to God as your King?’ Verse 10:

10"What should we do then?" the crowd asked. (v10)

And that’s the question that real repentance always asks whenever it reads God’s Word the Bible or studies it with others or hears it preached on: ‘What will I do as a result of having read this or heard this?’ Because every time we deal with God’s Word, we either harden our hearts towards him by doing nothing about it, or soften our hearts towards him by resolving what we need to do about it and then doing it. That’s what’s at stake whenever we handle the Bible. Which is important for a church like us to hear – where our Bible routines so easily become just that: routine.

Verse 10 again:

10"What should we do then?" the crowd asked. 11John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." 12Tax collectors [who were notorious for extorting more money then they should] also came to be baptised. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" 13"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them.14Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" [They were most likely soldiers who worked with the tax collectors and often aided and abetted the extortion by force.]He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay." (vv10-14)

And in all three cases, John homes in on our use of money – on giving it generously; and on not craving it – even to the extent that we’d get it unjustly. Why does he home in on that in particular, as evidence of repentance? Well, because when we turn away from God, money is one thing that most naturally takes his place. And we look to it and all it can buy to satisfy and secure us, instead of looking to God to do so. And when we treat money as God, we are by nature desperate to get it and loathe to give it. So that one of the strongest evidences that we have repented – that God is God, back in his rightful place in our lives – is that we’re the exact opposite: content with what we have; and willing to give. Does that describe you?

So, John says we need to repent and be forgiven. Then he says,


Second, WE NEED JESUS TO FORGIVE US AND GIVE US HIS SPIRIT TO CHANGE US (vv15-18)

And that’s because, remember, repentance is turning to God (through Jesus), in order to be changed by God. Look on to v15:

15The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.

John had such obvious authority that people thought maybe he was the Christ, the Messiah – that he was going to sort out what’s wrong with the world. When our twin daughters Beth and Ellie were born, Ellie had to spend a night in the special care unit. And above the cots were the babies’ names. And on Ellie’s left was David and on her right was Messiah. And I thought, ‘There’s a name to live up to.’ Not Jack or Sophie (or whatever else is in the top ten) but Messiah! And John says here, That’s absolutely not who I am.’ Verse 16:

16John answered them all, “I baptise you with water.”

Ie, ‘That’s all I can do. I can only get you wet as a visual aid of what you need God to do for you.’ Read on in v16:

“But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie [so now he’s talking about Jesus and identifying him with God]. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

What does that mean? Well, we need some OT background. God had called Israel, his OT people, into relationship with himself and given them his law so that they knew how to please him. But they so consistently disobeyed him that he finally sent them into exile as a judgment on their sin. And the prophets called them ‘unclean’ – they said they had an unclean track record of sinful behaviour; and unclean hearts that were turned away from God and were the root of the problem. And what was wrong with Israel is simply what’s wrong with all of us. But the prophets also promised that one day, the Christ would come and do something about it. Here are three examples of what they promised about the work of the Holy Spirit – God’s Spirit changing his people:

In that day... the Lord will cleanse... Jerusalem by a Spirit of judgement and a Spirit of fire. (Isaiah 4.2-4 – notice that ‘Spirit’ and ‘fire’ appear together here, just as they do in v16)[The Lord, speaking through Isaiah, says:] “I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendents. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams [which is a picture of bearing the kind of fruit John the Baptist was on about].’ (Isaiah 44.3-4)[And then the Lord, speaking through Ezekiel, says:] “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols [ie, I will not only clean your track record – forgive your sins; I will clean your hearts, I will get out of them their inclination to sin and to replace me with other things. How? Read on in the quote:] ... I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36.24-27)

So that’s what it means that Jesus ‘will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’ It means that having died on the cross for our forgiveness, and having then risen again from the dead, Jesus is able to pour out his Spirit into our hearts to change us – from people who don’t want to live for him, to people who do. So I wonder if, this morning, you’re someone who can say, ‘I want to please Jesus as my Lord’? If that’s what you are saying – and (albeit imperfectly) trying to do – then you must have received the Holy Spirit – or to use John’s language, been ‘baptised with the Holy Spirit’. Because otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to say and want that, since it doesn’t come naturally to sinful human beings, but only supernaturally – by the work of God’s Spirit in us.

Now some friends of mine who’ve grown up in Christian homes are able to say they can’t remember a time when they didn’t consciously trust in Jesus and want to live for him. And if that’s you, that’s a great thing to be able to say, and it means that Jesus began this work in you by his Spirit very early indeed. And that’s a great thing for those of us who are parents to be praying for our children. Others like me have come to faith from a non-Christian background and can point to the exact time they turned to Jesus and when he began this work in them by his Spirit. In my case, 27th September 1981. But some people worry that, if they can’t put a date on it and there’s no clear-cut experience, maybe they haven’t received the Holy Spirit – at least, not ‘properly’. Well, let me say this. I can’t remember being born. I’m told it was 3am on 29th April 1966 – the first and last time I’ve been an early riser – but I don’t remember it, I wasn’t conscious of it. But I don’t doubt that I was born, for the simple reason that I’m showing every sign of being alive now.

And if you can’t remember when you were ‘born again’ – to use Jesus’ way of talking about the Holy Spirit (see John 3.1-7) – if you weren’t conscious of it, well, that’s no reason, by itself, to doubt that you were. The question is: are you showing signs of being spiritually alive now? And the vital sign that John the Baptist has been teaching us about this morning is repentance – being able to say, ‘I want to please Jesus as my Lord’ (and albeit imperfectly trying to), in response to his wonderful forgiveness.

And if you’re not really clear in your mind on the things I’ve been talking about, can I encourage you to pick up a copy of this booklet Why Jesus? at the Welcome Desk and take it away and read it. Because being clear where we stand with Jesus is vital – because look at v17:

17His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Which is more picture language for that final division between those who willingly turn to God as King (the wheat) and those who won’t.

And my third point is a brief postscript:


Third, WE MAY NOT GET ANOTHER CHANCE TO REPENT (vv19-20)

Look at v19:

19But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife [ie, for marrying her incestuously], and all the other evil things he had done, 20Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison. (vv19-20)

So the Lord was kind enough to send John to preach repentance to a king – to Herod. But Herod didn’t want to repent – and in his case, the big sticking point was the very contemporary one of sex. And he never got another chance. At the end of Luke’s Gospel, when Jesus is on trial before Herod, it says:

8When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him... 9He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. (Luke 23.8-9)

He’d had his chance. So the last thing I’m bound to say from this part of God’s Word is: never put off sorting things out between yourself and God. If you’ve not yet turned to Jesus but know the time has come to join Christianity Explored and sort out what you believe, please don’t put it off. If you’re further on and know enough, now, to turn to Jesus and begin the Christian life, then don’t put it off – you could use the prayer suggested at the end of that Why Jesus? booklet. And if you’re a Christian, aware of issues of compromise and disobedience that need dealing with, then again don’t put it off.

But in fact there’s no-one in this building who doesn’t need either to repent for the first time, or to continue the life of repentance. And for all of us, the best time to repent, or repent further, is always now.