"Telling it like it is"

Luke 3:7-14

1. The Gospel of Luke is the biography of Jesus Christ. But before Jesus stepped on the public stage God sent John the Baptist to "warm-up the crowds" and prepare the way for the Lord. It’s a very hot warm-up! Listen and look at Luke 3:7-14.

2. Luke 3:7-14

Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely--be content with your pay."

3. John was the kind of public speaker you couldn’t miss. In today’s terms, think of surfing through sixty cable channels^* Most channels don’t get two seconds of your attention.

John: Hey! (Pastor looks up, startled)

John: Boring! Nobody cares! Say what’s really important!

(Ignoring John) Anyway, you’re surfing the channels and you come across this really interesting character who grabs your attention.

John: "You brood of snakes!) - - - - drama continues according to script.

4. John the Baptist - - - a hard act to follow! It’s hard for me to know what to say next. But, I guess that’s just the point. The only one who could follow him and out do him was Jesus himself.

1. Every speech teacher will tell you that is good to begin with an attention-getter.

If you don’t get your audience with the introduction, you may never have another chance. First impressions are important.

2. John got the attention of most people just from the way he looked and talked, but he also had a stunning introduction.

The crowd came to hear him. They wanted to be baptized.

John stood up and shouted his opening line: "You brood of vipers!"

(Wouldn’t that be a great opening line for membership seminars at Wooddale Church?)

3. Vipers are snakes. The type John was talking about lived out in the desert, were venomous and most people didn’t like them. When fires swept through the brush of the desert, snakes somehow sensed the dangers coming and came out from under the rocks in large numbers and tried to escape.

4. John was a preacher against sin and for repentance. He warned against coming judgment. He called them a brood of vipers because he likened them to snakes trying to save their lives. In other words, the real reason people came to John was not because they were truly repentant but because they were scared of divine judgment.

5. Let’s put ourselves into the story.

Imagine that you found out tomorrow that you had an untreatable virus or bacteria that will kill you before the end of the week. Do you think that you might be more open to God and more repentant of sin than you would otherwise be?

Suppose a meteor is going to hit the earth, a nuclear warhead is on the way to where you live, or an earthquake or tornado starts ripping your home apart. Would you fall to your knees and be open to whatever God wants you to do?

6. John would probably look at us and say the same words: "You bunch of snakes!"

Now, since I see myself as one of the snakes in this story, I would like to come to a brief defense of snakehood.

It does not seem bad to me that we turn to God in our times of greatest desperation. I think it is good that people want to repent before they die. But, it is certainly later than it should be. I have to agree with John that we should repent before the desert fires start burning up where we live.

7. John was the prophet of God saying that everyone who wants to quit sin and turn to God should do so sooner not later, and with a desire for God that is greater than the fear of destruction.

"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?"

1. Good speeches often can be summarized in a single sentence. It’s the "one big idea" the speaker is trying to communicate. John was masterful and clear. The main point was for his listeners to "produce fruit in keeping with your repentance."

2. In other words, if you say you want to quit sin and live for God, do something to prove it. Words are important but words that are not backed-up with deeds usually aren’t worth anything.

4. Neither John nor the rest of the Bible are saying that God accepts us on the basis of what we do. The Bible’s clear teaching is that nothing we could ever do is good enough to win the favor of a righteous and holy God. God loves us and forgives us and blesses us on the basis of his goodness, nor ours. God is merciful and gracious.

However, those who sincerely turn to God will prove their words by their behavior. Actions will follow attitudes. Faith will produce deeds. Repentance of sin will mean that we quit the sin.

5. The comparison John uses is fruit from a tree. If it’s an apple tree it will grow apples. If it’s a fig tree it will grow figs.

The same is true for people. Those who turn to God, confess and repent sin, claim God’s righteousness, will do good things.

6. Everyone is supposed to get this main point and it should be enough. Except some of us need to hear specifics before we really understand.

John was a prophet who wasn’t afraid to be specific. He looked people in the eye, called them by name, identified their sins, and told them if they mean business with God - - this is what they should do.

1. John knew his audience well. There is an old communication axiom that says "an amateur asks ‘What should I say?’ but a professional asks ‘Who is my audience?.’"

2. John knew his audience so well that he anticipated their first response to his main point. He knew they would immediately offer an excuse.

3. Their excuse was that they were Jews, so they didn’t have to prove their repentance. They thought they were safe. John said: "do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.’" In other words, being born Jewish is not enough - - a person must personally seek and know God. Repentance of sin and right behavior is one-at-a-time, not a birth right.

4. It is interesting how common a similar excuse is today. There are many people who assume they are safe from God’s judgment because of some denominational background into which they are born. 90% of Minnesotans when asked about their religion name a specific denomination in unprompted responses. There are a lot of people who assume they are okay with God and going to heaven because they were born into some particular church group. John said that is nonsense. It’s an excuse.

5. In typical prophetic style he said: "For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax 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."

Being very blunt, he was saying that anyone who didn’t produce fruit consistent with their claimed repentance and relationship to God would be chopped down like a tree that didn’t bear fruit.

6. By then he had everyone’s attention. His listeners were starting to take this personally, which was exactly what he wanted.

One by one and all together they asked John "What should we do then?"

John didn’t generalize. He picked people out of the crowd and told them what to do.

1. His first answer went to a rich person. It was the person with two sets of clothes and plenty to eat. John said, ""The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."

2. Very direct. Very blunt. Very specific. Don’t be content with too much when others have too little.

3. The story doesn’t report what the person with extra clothes and food said, but it’s not hard to guess. He probably said things like "I need two sets of clothes. I need extra food. I earned what I’ve got. Other people need to take care of themselves - - if you provide for the poor they’ll never learn to take care of themselves."

4. John doesn’t even bother to listen to the arguments or excuses. He has no tolerance for excuses. He figures that if this person is sincere and repents of sin, he’ll share his possessions. If he’s not sincere, there’s no reason to waste any more time on him. So, John moves on to the next people in the crowd.

1. There was a cluster of tax collectors. Almost everyone hated tax collectors. They worked for the oppressive Roman government and they consistently over charged and kept the excess for themselves. They had a reputation for being ruthless. If a poor person owed $10 the tax collectors would charge $30 and pocket $20 for themselves - - - even if it meant the poor people didn’t have enough to feed their children.

2. John told them "Don’t rip off other people. Stop over charging." This cut right to profitability of tax collecting. He was asking something really difficult for them to do. Yet, if they were sincere about quitting sin and doing right, this was what was expected of them.

3. What would you do? If you are making a big profit by overcharging, would you be willing to stop to prove you mean business with God? What if it cost you $100,000 a year in profits? What if all your business colleagues think you were crazy for doing this? What if a prophet of God said you are an insincere hypocrite if you don’t stop ripping people off?

4. John said: "Don't collect any more than you are required to."

1. Next John turned to a group of soldiers and said ‘you’re next!’ The soldiers asked

"And what should we do?"

2. Soldiers were men with great power over the lives of others. It would be tough for them to change. John didn’t seem to care how hard the changes would be. He told them to quit extorting money from people - - - which was pretty much the same advice he gave to the tax collectors. And, he told them to quit lying about people.

3. Apparently the soldiers abused their power by accusing people of bad things they didn’t do. This way the soldiers could get bribes, put others down and build themselves up. Lying was a control mechanism.

5. The same goes today. If John were here this morning he would tell us that if we are going to claim we are Christians we need to treat the lives and reputations of others with respect and truth. Don’t gossip. Don’t lie. Don’t control other people with false statements and half truths.

1. Then John really got personal. He said: "be content with your pay." I guess the soldiers wanted more. They grumbled about their wages. They were unhappy people because they didn’t get more money.

2. I doubt they were well paid. Most Roman soldiers were drafted into the army. They were forced to serve and were usually underpaid and overworked. In many ways they had a legitimate gripe. John said, quit complaining, choose to be content with what you have.

3. These were not easy expectations. John did not preach an easy message nor an easy religion. While he never said that changed behavior could or would win the favor of God, he taught that sincere repentance and turning toward God will always bring changed behavior in a person’s life.

3. I’ll tell you honestly that I don’t feel very comfortable with John’s style. I don’t like people in my face and I don’t like getting into the face of others. I am more comfortable with a less direct and softer approach. I prefer subtlety.

However, I think we all need to honestly listen to what he had to say. After all, John was a prophet speaking for God.

4. The message for us is that we need to admit and repent of sin if we really want Jesus Christ in our lives. The message is that if we are sincere, our behavior will change.

5. Now listen carefully. The changes in our lives that prove we are sincere with God are still mostly about avoiding excuses, money and the way we treat other people.

6. I don’t think I’m capable of being as direct and blunt as John, but I’ll give it my best try. Do you want to get rid of sin? Will you choose to change the way you handle possessions and money to ways that please God? Will you truly reflect God’s standards in the way you treat people who are poor, people who have needs, people who have less than you have?

7. Personally, I don’t identify with John the prophet in this story. I identify with the people he was talking to.

My response is that I want to hear what God has to say to me. I want to admit when I’m wrong. I truly want to do what is right.

8. Prayer: "Lord, speak to my heart. Forgive my sins. Give me your help to do what is right. Lord speak to us all. Hear our confessions. Accept our repentance. Help us all to know and do what you want us to do. In Jesus’ name. Amen."