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Luke 3 "True Repentance"

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" (Luke 3 1-6)

John the baptist was the greatest of the prophets, preparing the way for Jesus Christ. How did John prepare people? He taught them about repentance. Repentance is not really the good news. It is preparation for the good news. Repentance means to "turn around". It is the realization that we are sinners and we need God in our lives. But without Jesus, repentance has very little real value. It is like a restaraunt that my wife and I went to last year on New Year's Eve. Outside the shop were beautiful signs announcing roast beef and Italian pasta. We looked at the signs and our minds were prepared for a wonderful Italian feast. We turned away from all the other shops, repented of even thinking about Denny's, and asked for a table for two. After studying the menu, I ordered the roast beef with tomato sauce, only to be told by the waiter that they were all out of beef. My wife ordered the grilled chicken with pasta salad, except the waiter informed us that the chicken was also sold out. "What do you have?", I asked in exhasperation. "Actually all we have left is fish." Well, my wife doesnπt even like fish!
Repentance is our part. It is our choice to walk into the church or to sleep in. It is our choice; do we want God?, or can we handle life on our own? But much more important is God's part. Isaiah's prophecy about John the baptist is very interesting. It talks about one who will cry out in the wilderness and prepare the way of the LORD. Now, I thought that this meant preparing peoples hearts to make their way to Jesus. I had a picture in my mind of the pilgrim struggling on life's way to find God. My image of this was the valley of the shadow of death being filled in, the shadows disappearing. The mountains and hills brought low so that the pilgrim wouldnπt have to climb. The crooked placed made straight so that the pilgrim would not get lost. The rough ways smooth so that he would not injure himself as he made his way to God. But look closely at the verse with me again. Who is the way prepared for? Not the pilgrim, not the seeker trying to find God. No! It is the way of the Lord that is being prepared here. The path is being made straight for God! The key is in verse 6, "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." God is not hidden at the end of a long trail. He is not waiting for the diligent few who can climb to the top of the mountain. The picture that Isaiah gives us is that of God moving, striding along the path towards us. God is the one who is seeking us. Our hearts are being prepared for a holy invasion, a divine infiltration, for the coming of Jesus Christ!
Repentance prepares the way for Jesus to come into our hearts. It is a change of attitude, not a change of lifestyle. I know some people who seem to walk in repentance all the time. They are constantly sorry for what they have done. This is silly if you know what repentance means. You see if you are always "turning around" you do nothing but spin in circles. Repentance is simply taking your focus off of the world and putting it on Christ. It is the first step, not the goal. This is seen beautifully in John the Baptist. You see first he preached repentance but then he pointed people to Jesus who could set them free. This is the root of John the Baptist's message

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as [our] father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. "And even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?" He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Then 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 what is appointed for you." Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." (Luke 3:7-14)

One problem with repentance is that it is a heart matter that is personal. It is very difficult for anyone to tell if any other is truly repentant. I cannot take blood out of you and test it for true repentance. So John the Baptist taught the people to bear fruits worthy of repentance. If you are truly sorry for your sin, you cannot continue to walk in that sin. Some of the Jews thought that since they were descendants of Abraham that they were special cases. But John gave them a stern warning that the true children of Abraham were spiritual children, who acted like Abraham. Each group that came to John the Baptist asked him the same question, "What shall we do?" and depending on who they were John the Baptist gave them simple instructions on how to avoid sin and do good.
However it is not the change of attitude that sets us free from sin. It is the power of Jesus Christ.

Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ [or] not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. "His winnowing fan [is] in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire." And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. (Luke 3:15-

Jesus Christ baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The picture that John the Baptist gives us here is of a grain being seperated from the chaff. The Holy Spirit moves like a wind blowing all of the unneccesary parts away, and then the fire destroys it. Jesus works the same way in our lives. He controls the fan of the Holy Spirit and the fire and uses it to purify us from all of the unneccesary sin in our lives.
John's baptism was with water and so was not that much different from ritual purification that the Jews did normally. It was like washing the soul. But the baptism of Jesus Christ is stronger stuff that we do not need to do again and again. I do not agree with the teaching that we need to continually repent of our sins. I do not agree with churches where everyone looks so depressed and guilty, because they are all such desperate sinners, begging for mercy from God. No, the baptism of Jesus is not like washing a dish, over and over again. It is like refining gold. Once gold is pure, it is pure! We do not need to refine it again. Once Jesus has set us free, we are free indeed! We have victory! Don't settle for a war of attrition with sin, with small wins and small losses every day. Be pure, baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Don't go over the same old ground with the Enemy, claim the victory in that area of your life and march on.
A good way to do this practically is to ask yourself the question of the people who came to John. They asked, "What should we do?". However in each situation you find yourself in, answer it with another question, "What would Jesus do?" We are going to spend the rest of the book of Luke finding out, what Jesus would do. I invite you to use this study as a chance to expose your life to the threshing floor of Jesus Christ. As we talk through each event in His life, allow the wind of the Holy Spirit to blow through and catch up those elements in you that are not of Jesus. As you realize that that part of you is not what Jesus would do, let it go, consign it to the fire and watch it burn as Jesus changes your heart forever. This is the way that is prepared for the Lord, true repentance that wishes to turn away from everything that is not of God, and then through Jesus Christ true victory over those sins.