Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. John the Baptist. It was prophesied of him that he would be great before the Lord. He's declaring the word of God. And he's going to proclaim this word, not in the temple.
Not in the capital Jerusalem, not even in the hills of Galilee. He's going to declare it in the wilderness. Welcome to the Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Senior pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. John the Baptist's message was bold and confrontational.
He warned the crowds that judgment was coming and challenged them to demonstrate true repentance through transformed lives. Today, John deals with true repentance and why it results in real change. Here's Pastor John Monroe with today's lesson. Crying in the wilderness. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.
This is the prophecy of Isaiah around 750 BC. We see it now being fulfilled. in this remarkable individual called John the Baptist. Before John was born, it was prophesied that he would be great before the Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. He preaches a message of repentance as he spiritually prepares the nation of Israel to receive the coming Savior.
A highway has to be prepared in the hearts of the people. And so from the desert comes this strange yet powerful prophet saying, Repent. Let's learn more about this important truth of repentance as we look closer at the life of John the Baptist. Look three, verse one. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, being governor of Judea, And Herod being Tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip, Tetrarch of the region of Ereutea and Trachonidus, and Licinius, Tetrarch of Abilene.
During the high priesthood of Annas, and Caiaphas. The word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. And he went into all of the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance. For the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book, of the words of Isaiah the prophet.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his path straight. Every valley. Shall be filled.
and every mountain and hill shall be made low. And the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh. shall see the salvation of God. He said, therefore, to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, You brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham our father. For I tell you... God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.
Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. And the crowds asked him. What then shall we do? He answered them. Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none.
And whoever has food is to do likewise. Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, Teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them, Collect no more than you are authorized to do.
Soldiers also asked him Uh and we, what shall we do? And he said to them, Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation. And be content. with your wages. Let's think first of all of the message of repentance.
Verse 3. He went into all of the region around the Jordan. Proclaiming Here it is. A message of Repentance. For the forgiveness.
Of sense. That is Before you're going to experience the salvation of the Lord, There is going to be repentance. That's the way of the Lord. I don't know if I like that word repentance. It's kind of negative, isn't it?
I mean, who wants to repent? John says If you're going to receive the Messiah, There must be repentance. Repentance involves Changing our minds, changing our understanding, but biblical repentance is not limited to an intellectual exercise. Repentance. As John is going to say, is going to result.
in fruit in keeping with repentance.
Now you say, what's the evidence of repentance?
Well, John helps us here. John mentions three.
Now I realize. John is preaching before the Death and burial of our Lord, but the principles here are the same. First thing he says is there must be repentance. There must be. Confession.
I'm saying. Confession of her sin. It's the evidence of repentance, isn't it? Why the king is coming? Are you saying you're really in the right condition to receive this one?
There has to be a cleanup. There must be a cleansing. There must be a. Confession. It's time to repent.
Time to confess your sins.
Now John cannot forgive sins. I cannot forgive your sins. The church cannot forgive your sins. No priest or pastor can forgive your sins. And John does not say he can forgive sins.
No, he points to Jesus. Bold. The Lamb of God. Who takes away the sin? of the world.
All of us have sinned. All of us must repent. All of us must confess our sins. And you, whoever you are, You must repent. before God.
Have you ever done that? It's difficult to admit we're wrong, isn't it? Difficult. To admit we mess up. We like to blame others, we like to point the finger, we get defensive, we rationalize.
People say, well, of course no one's perfect. How often do I hear this? Rather than deal With the sin in our life. In effect, we point to others and say, well, of course, no one's perfect. I mean, who are you to challenge me?
Are you perfect? And in that way, we escape. The burden. And the necessity of personal and radical repentance. Yes, it's true, none of us are perfect.
That's why all of us need to repent. All of us have sinned. All of us need a Saviour. True repentance involves an acknowledgment. Oversin.
of our rebellion, of our waywardness. Psalm 32. Verse five. Here's David. David knew about SIN, didn't he?
He had sinned very, very badly. He knew better. He needed to repent. This is what he says. I acknowledged.
My sin to you. And I did not cover My iniquity. I will confess my transgressions. To the Lord. And here it is.
And you forgave. The iniquity. of my sin. All of us love forgiveness, don't we? But before forgiveness, There must be true Confession Overseen.
Proverbs 28. Proverbs twenty-eight, verse thirteen: whoever conceals his transgression. will not prosper. You've got your cover up, you don't admit. You've done wrong.
You've rationalized it, you've pointed to other people, you've got all the excuses in the world. If you conceal your transgressions, you will not prosper. But here's the promise. He who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. And John says so beautifully.
If we Confess our sins. He is faithful. and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Confession. Of sin, have you done that?
So John is saying you've got to confess your sins and then he's saying part of the reality that you've truly repented is in baptism. This word baptized means to dip, to plunge, to immerse. Jews of an individual drowning. Shoes of a Ship sinking. And so in the context of John the Baptist's message, Baptism in the Jordan Was the outward symbol of true repentance and personal confession of sin.
So you're not baptized in a group. We worship in a group. Ah, but when we're baptized We stand as it were alone, don't we? That's the point, isn't it? That we acknowledge that we are the sinner and we have received Christ's salvation.
No, the baptism doesn't save us. The water doesn't wash away our sins. I think we're clear on that. No, baptism is the sign, it's the seal of the supernatural cleansing and forgiveness of sins which has taken place in our heart. And for the Christian.
That forgiveness comes through our Lord Jesus Christ, that He died for me. He was buried for me. He rose for me, and I'm trusting him. Surprising, isn't it, to us that when the crowds come to John in verse 7, he refers to them as a brood of vipers. Hardly seeker-friendly language is there.
Why was he so strong? Because John knew That in the religion of the day They knew their Bibles. I think we sometimes think that if someone knows their Bible and can answer questions That makes them spiritual, not at all. Yes, we should know our Bibles. Of course, we should know our Bibles.
So, where to God? But the Pharisees and the crowds They knew their Bibles. They studied, they spent all day studying the Old Testament. But There was that legalism, wasn't there? There was that legalistic formality.
That was the ritualism. And he says, Now you think you've got Abraham as your father? You think because you're born Jewish and you can trace your genealogy back to Abraham, that that makes you right with God? Far from it. Your spiritual predecessor is not sufficient for true salvation.
Also, just because you get baptized doesn't mean that you're right with God. That can just be a meaningless ritual. None of that gets you into heaven. It's repentance. and belief.
in Jesus Christ. But then John says something we must hear. Evidences of repentance, John is saying, there's a confession of your sin, there's baptism, and then there is a supernatural change. True repentance leads to a change of life, a change of heart.
So our religious heritage. Our ethnicity In these cases that were Jews, doesn't save us. Nor does your baptism. People say, well. For almost 10 years, I ministered in Michigan, and people there were very strong in their covenant theology to say, Well, we're children of the covenant.
Do you think because Your parents are Christians? Do you think Because You were sprinkled as a child. And that you think that you're a child of the covenant, that that's going to get you into heaven? Absolutely not. Yes, you may be proud of your spiritual heritage, and perhaps there's many good things about it that never gets you into heaven.
You do not rely on these things. John is saying. True repentance leads to Fruits. of repentance. There must be a change.
A change in your heart is going to be evidenced by how you treat others. Notice what he He says here, Verse nine. Even now, the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. That's what Jesus said.
You will know them by their fruit.
Now you can have a tree in your yard and put a sign apple tree, but if it doesn't bear apples, if it only bears thorns, whatever you call it, it's not an apple tree. You can put a sign on you, Christian, member of church, child of the covenant, baptized. Where's that? The label Be proud of it. And never yet.
No. True forgiveness. of your sin. Jesus said, if it's that kind of tree. John is saying, if it's that kind of tree, A tree that wears the label, but there's not evidence of any fruit, that tree.
Verse nine. is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire. No, if there is genuine repentance, that will be evidence. In fruit. How can you say there's been a heart change?
How can you say in any meaningful sense that you have repented and you continue to live as you always have done? That's deception, it's deception.
Now the crowd asked. What then shall we do? I like the question. And John gives us really three basic examples. of fruits in keeping with repentance.
God's grace in our life must Impact. How we treat others. How can you say you love God? And don't love others. That's the very question that John asks in his epistle.
Notice the three things. Verse first of all, verse 11. He says, Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food. is to do likewise. Here's one evidence.
of true repentance? Generosity. and sharing with people in need. Pretty convicting, isn't it? You you generous.
You say, well, I've worked hard. I'm a self-made man. Really? Who gave you the ability? Who gave you the strength?
Who gave you the health? Everything we receive comes from God. Yes, love one another. The true believer is one who is Generous and shares with those in need. Here's the second one, verse 12: the tax collectors.
Who loves a tax collector? Jesus says, at least they ask the question. He says, collect no more than you're authorized to do. Be honest in your Business dealings, don't defraud people. Don't be a person who boasts.
That you take something that is worth a dollar and can sell it to someone and misrepresent them and. Sell it for $100 to some poor widow, and you think that's smart? That's theft, isn't it? That's deception. Yeah.
These tax collectors were defrauding the people, taking more money than they should, taking bribes. He says, don't do that. Be honest. in your business dealings. A are you honest?
Did you defraud people? in your business. Your customers? The inline revenue? Honest person.
Here's the third one. The soldiers What are we to do? Don't extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation. Be content with your wages. Don't take bribes.
You're in a position of power as a soldier. Don't abuse that. to further your own nest. Don't use your position of power to take advantage of people.
Some of you are in positions of power. You may be in law enforcement. You may be the boss of an organization. And you're in a responsible position. Don't use that.
to mistreat people. Don't use that in a corrupt way. And then he says, be content with your wages.
So I don't know if I like that.
Well, that's what we say. Be contented. Your life is in the hands of the Lord. Don't be envious. Remember the last commandment, don't covet.
See, how we handle our money is a very, very good barometer of where we are spiritually. You can sing the hymns, you can ask. These wonderful questions in your life group that people think you're very, very spiritual. Yeah. But if you're holding what you have like this, Spiritually speaking.
You're a baby. Or perhaps you are not a true believer at all. How can we who experience the abundant grace of God not be generous? Don't be greedy. Don't be self-indulgent.
Don't be envious. See, John is saying, to escape the coming wrath of God. There must be genuine repentance. Paul is going to put it this way: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away.
The new has come. A fundamental change. That if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, we don't become perfect. We do sin, we do stumble. There's times of staleness, that is true.
But the general tenor of our life as a follower of Christ is towards God. That's like someone in their marriage. There are no perfect husbands, but a man who truly loves his wife demonstrates that not just in his words, but in his actions. And if there is no action of love between a man and his wife, we have to question whatever you say. Do you truly love your wife?
If I love Christ, There's going to be some evidence of that. In a way I treat people. and the way I handle my money. in my humility. and how I conduct myself and my priorities.
And so while we are not saved by our works, Paul makes it very clear in Ephesians 2.10, we are saved for good works. Our good works are not the condition of our salvation, but they are the consequence of our salvation.
So, again, I ask you. Is there true repentance.
Now what's the consequence of no repentance? John gives the crowd a very stern warning in verses 7 and 8: judgment is coming. God's wrath is coming. You've got Abraham as your father. Don't presume you're in the right standing with God.
Physically, you're descended from Abraham, but you're not sons of Abraham spiritually. God has no grandchildren. Your parents may be wonderful Christians. That doesn't make you a wonderful Christian. No, this must be personal.
And God is doing a supernatural work. He says in verse 8. God can raise children from these stones. No wonderful. that God takes very imperfect.
Selfish people like us. And we see Christ. We have an understanding, at least to some extent, of our own sin. And we receive Christ. And this grace floods our hearts.
And here is this individual who once was very self-centered, very rebellious. and now is a humble servant of God. Radical spiritual change is needed. And if we don't repent, John is saying, Jesus is saying, The word of God is saying judgment is coming. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, and the end of a message titled Crying in the Wilderness.
Remember, if you ever miss one of these daily messages, you can always catch up online at the verdict.org. And John has more to share in just a moment, so stay with us. But first, let me tell you about a resource that addresses one of the most important questions believers face. Can you lose your salvation once you've trusted Christ? It's a question that troubles many people, especially during difficult seasons of life.
John has written a thoughtful booklet on this topic, called Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. In it he carefully examines what Scripture teaches about God's keeping power and provides solid biblical encouragement for anyone struggling with doubts about their salvation. and we're offering this booklet to you absolutely free. Just go to theverdict.org and request Eternal Security. And while you're on our website, you'll have the opportunity to play a part in what God is doing through the verdict with a simple one-time donation of any amount.
You can easily give whatever amount you feel led to by visiting theverdict.org. And don't forget to subscribe to the Verdict podcast. In addition to these programs, John has a weekly podcast called Abizandum, where he shares his personal thoughts on relevant topics like church and politics, the uniqueness of Israel, and how to engage the culture for Christ. You can hear it all by subscribing to the Verdict podcast.
Now, here's Pastored Jean Monroe with closing remarks for today's lesson.
Well, what's your verdict? What do you think of John the Baptist? In some ways, he's an intimidating character as he's very direct in his message. Yet He's a man sent from God. and he's fearless in his preaching.
The question I want to leave with you today is, Have you repented of your sin? Are you ready to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord? He died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose again.
Now he offers you forgiveness and eternal life. Trust Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
