Luke 3:4

Luke 3:4

Concerning the message that God gave to John the Baptist about the coming of Jesus, and of course the message that John gave to the people of his day, the Bible says in Luke 3:4-6, "As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." In talking about the great and powerful message of John the Baptist, first of all the Bible is referenced. The book of Isaiah is quoted. The more that what you say is based upon the Word of God, the more that you will have a message from God. If what you say is based upon your own ideas then you do not have a message from God: you have a human message. "If any man speak, let him speak as of the oracles of God." After all, the goal should be to reach people with God’s words. My words are not powerful, but God’s words are.

The message that John the Baptist gave is a universal message. It was based upon something Isaiah said 500 years before John lived. The message was still valid 500 years after it was originally given, and it’s still valid today. It’s the message of repentance. It’s the message that people need to take stock of their lives before it’s too late, and make a change by turning to Christ. You were born into the world with a sinful nature. "For all have sinned and come short of the Kingdom of God." Once you become mature enough to realize it, you must start living life with the goal to improve yourself. It all starts with repentance and turning to Jesus. That’s why Isaiah said and John said, "Make His paths straight." The principle of the great, eternal, and Holy God and the fact that we will one day stand before Him compels us to straighten our lives out. If there is something wrong, get it right. If there is something crooked, straighten it out.

The principle of needing to get your life going in the right direction starts with repentance and turning towards God. In other words, a human is born as a sinner, but the goal of life is to constantly improve after the point of repentance. You will not really be able to improve in the ways that you ought to unless you repent of your sins, receive God’s forgiveness, and obtain the fresh start that He alone can give. No one is perfect, but everyone can improve with the help of God. You are heading in one direction or another. You are either heading towards heaven or you’re heading towards hell. You are either improving or you are getting worse. The message that John gave is that you had better be sure in what direction you are heading.

We have been told to live a life of continual improvement: to always look for ways to improve and become better human beings and better citizens of this planet. One of the reasons for this is because it’s exactly what God Himself is going to do for the earth. God has the earth on target for Hs plan to straighten everything out. Luke 3:5 says that "Every valley shall be filled and every mountain shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth." You might as well get on the winning side. It’s going to happen because God is going to do it. God’s plan is in motion. We are heading for the point that He has purposed. The battle between good and evil that’s taking place in the world will end with God doing exactly what it says in Luke 3:5: "The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth."

Luke 3:6 tells us when this is going to happen. It says, "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." This is talking about the return of Christ to the earth. When Christ returns, He will defeat the final enemies of God and of goodness. Evil will perish forever. The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the land as the waters cover the sea. From a world-wide standpoint the appearance of Christ will cause an automatic abolition and annihilation of evil and sinfulness. Until He returns, individuals can still escape the penalty and effects of sin by knowing Him. In either situation Christ is the answer.

When John gave his message to people about the need to repent, many people came to hear him speak and to be baptized. But the same thing happened in that situation that still happens when there are large crowds of people who gather together supposedly for the purpose of serving God: some of them were not sincere or genuine. Jesus said, "God is a Spirit. They that worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth." John the Baptist said to some of these people in Luke 3:7, "Then said he to the multitude who came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" In religious organizations not only are some people not genuine, some are downright evil. Remember it was the religious Pharisees who opposed Christ and eventually had Him crucified. John compared some of those who came to him to poisonous snakes: "vipers." Some of the worst people in the world are involved in religion. Such people are headed for hell unless they repent.

We like to hear about the love of God, and so we should because God is love. We will never fully comprehend how much God loves us. "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son." When we get to heaven we will spend eternity enraptured by an eternal love that defies anyone’s ability to express. Paul said in Rom. 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

But God is also a judge. He must judge sin and He will. He is merciful and He is patient, but the time will come for every human that we must stand before the Judge of the whole earth. God is a holy God who is angry against sin. Sin will not stand, not when the time of judgment comes. "Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess." Stubborn man will not be allowed to be stubborn forever. Sinful man will not be allowed to sin forever. The day of judgment will come, and it will be the day of the wrath of the Lord: wrath against sin and wrath against sinners who have not repented. Those who love righteousness will shout for joy, but those who chose to live in sin will wail and lament forever. No wonder John advised these people to "flee" from the wrath to come.

In Luke 3:8 John described two problems that keep people from God and keep them from heaven. Many people today have the same problems. John said, "Bring therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham for our father: for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." The people claimed to have repented, but they had no change of behavior to prove it. The call to serve God is a call to a change, a commitment, a determination to do what is right. No one is perfect and everyone is still a sinner, but if you claim to believe and if your life has not been changed by your belief in Him, then something is seriously wrong. The Bible says that "if anyone be in Christ he is a new creation: old things are passed away. All things are become new." If that has not been your experience, then there is no reason to think that you are a true Christian or that you have truly repented of your sins. Why did you come to Christianity anyway? "Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"

There is a need among people to understand that they must repent of their sins to the degree that there is a change in behavior. There is also the need to understand the principle of individual responsibility. People who are raised with a religious heritage, tend to identify themselves with that heritage; and therefore, to think that everything is okay spiritually because their parents or grandparents or countrymen or whoever served God. But everyone will give an answer individually and personally for their own life and their own spiritual condition irrespective of their heritage. It’s the principle of individual choice and individual accountability before God. Everyone must make his or her own choice. A Jewish person born into a Jewish family has no advantage over anyone else. A person born into a Christian family has no advantage over anyone else either. That’s why some people who come from a spiritual background turn out to be the worst of sinners, and others who come from the most sinful background turn out to be among the best of saints. It’s also why there is no guarantee in the upbringing of children. Everyone makes his own choice. What choice are you making today? Before it’s too late you have been invited by God to repent of your sins and start following Him. Jesus said, "Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish."

In Luke 3:9 John the Baptist said, "And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees. Every tree therefore which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire." If you end up at the wrong side of the judgment, John made it very clear what the final result would be: "fire," the fire of hell. "It’s appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment." Later in the book of Luke Jesus will tell about a rich man and what happens to him after death, and Jesus says in Luke 16:22-23, "The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…" There is a judgment to come, and there is a hell that some people will go to as a result of that judgment. This is perhaps the most compelling reason of all to repent of your sins and give your life to God and Christ. Is there a more important question than this: where will you spend eternity?

The people to whom John was speaking understood the importance of what he was talking about, and they asked him a very good question. The Bible says in Luke 3:10, "And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?" Some people become involved in religion without ever having truly repented. Such people are in danger of spending an eternity in torment. The people who listened to John received his warning, and they asked him what they could do to make sure they had truly repented.

John’s answer is recorded for us in Luke 3:11-14. It says, "He answered and said unto them, He that has two coats, let him impart to him that has none; and he that has food, let him do likewise. Then came also the Publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, and what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages."

John gave three specific instructions. He spoke to people in general. He spoke to tax collectors, and he spoke to soldiers: Probably Roman soldiers. It’s interesting to note that each situation has to do with the needs, desires, and excesses of human beings. The first has to do with food and clothing: the basic needs of human life. In the first instruction John said that if you have more food than you need or more clothing than you need to give to those who have none. Often in life by the abundance and grace of God, He gives us more than we absolutely need. If you have more than you absolutely need for survival in this world, then are several wise and practical things to do with what you have. You would be wise to save some of it for a rainy day. Good times never last forever. In this uncertain and changing world, good times are always eventually followed by bad times. If God gives you the means, then you will prepare for such an eventuality. There are other valid uses of your excess funds. It’s wise to prepare for retirement. But never forget that one of the reasons that God gives you more than you need is so that you will share with others who are not so fortunate.

The essence of sin is selfishness. If you are not willing to share with others, it may be because of how selfish you are. John the Baptist told his listeners that if they wanted to make sure that they had evidence in their lives of true repentance, then they should help those who needed food and clothing. The other two admonitions given by John also had elements of materialism to which he referred. He told the tax collectors to make sure that they did not take from people any more than was actually due. Because the tax collectors got a percentage of what they collected, they were notorious for taking more than they really had to from people. We have rip-off artists in our society also. There are people who steal from their fellow man by breaking and entering. There are also people who steal by over-charging for services, or by using subtilty and deceit such as with the use of social media.

When the soldiers asked what they should do as a part of true repentance, they were not told to stop being soldiers; but they were told to be the right kind of soldier. Soldiers and police officers who are not rightly related to God tend to be more violent than they need to be, and they are also in a position where they can more easily take advantage of people. That’s why John warned them to be content with their wages. Some occupations do not pay as well as others. Military personnel and police officers are notoriously underpaid. There are sometimes legal and honorable things that people can do to attempt to increase their salary, but it’s also very important to learn to be content with your wages. Many people have committed sins that they would not have committed if they had learned to be content with their wages. Paul said, "I have learned that in whatever state I am, therewith to be content." Those who are motivated by strong desires for material things often commit sins that they otherwise would not have committed. "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Your attitude towards material possessions may be the greatest indication of all concerning your spiritual condition and may provide the best answer as to if you have truly repented of your sinfulness or not. Over the years in contacts with people who are not rightly related to God, one of the most common characteristics that I have noted about them is that instead of loving God, they love material things. It’s a form of idolatry and a violation of the first commandment. No wonder that John emphasized that for people to truly repent, they must turn away from their selfish materialism.

It’s a sad thing and a strange thing that people can be gripped so hard by their love of material things. To throw away eternal bliss and happiness just for the sake of holding so tightly a few pieces of silver and gold! A wise person will value finding an entrance to the Kingdom of heaven, which can be found through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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