Judge Not [well almost]

Luke 3:8-16

John the Baptist preached the good news, and it sounded like this: “You bunch of snakes – do you think you’re gonna escape the wrath of God?”

One might think he was some fringe fanatic, but then Jesus said the same things several times. The God of love is a God of wrath, and in love He tells the truth so we can escape the wrath. That’s what preaching used to be…and it’s what it’s supposed to be.

John gives us six elements of a true repentance. 

True repenters reflect on personal sin [face the music/deal with it]

True repenters recognize divine wrath

True repenters reject religious ritual [no good works can save you]

True repenters renounce ancestry [salvation doesn’t run in the family]

True repenters reveal true spiritual transformation

In Acts 8 a guy told Peter he believed on Jesus and Peter then baptized him. He started working for the Lord alongside Peter. Then he showed his true colors and Peter said, you need to repent, or you’re gonna perish! Now how could Peter know if the guy was truly saved or not? Who is he to judge that?

v. 8          John says, “You’re not saved. I can tell!”

That sounds judgy. Didn’t Jesus say, “Judge not”? Yes! Let’s look at it.

Matthew 7:1-2        It’s not your place to judge, especially if you aren’t allowing yourself to be judged.

vv. 3-5     This suggests that there is a place for judging. Not in hypocrisy. Not unless you have looked into the mirror. And never judge the heart/motives. You can’t see inside. If ever we judge, we judge conduct.

Ill.—if you are speeding the police may pull you over. I suggest you comply, respectfully. They are the authority. Should you say, “You don’t know my reason, you don’t know my heart. You can’t judge me.” The officer could reply, “I’m not judging your motives, I’m judging your conduct.”

Jesus went on to say just that in v. 16a.

vv. 17-18         Jesus was a fruit inspector.

V. 19                There’s the wrath to come!

v. 20                When John said he could tell they weren’t saved he was just observing the fruit, which indicated what kind of tree they were. And then came vv. 21-23 about many saying Lord, Lord / depart from me.

It’s another proof that there is a shallow, false gospel that produces counterfeit Christians…those tares among the wheat…people who think they are saved when they are not.

Back in Luke 3, John says, if the repentance is real it will show up in your conduct. It will show up in your behavior.  It will show up in your attitudes.  It will show up in your actions.  Let's see the fruit.

Acts 26:20

But shewed first unto them…that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Is your repentance real?  Then let's see it manifest in your life.  By our fruits we are known. The works don’t come first in that verse, the repentance does, and when it’s real, it really works!

Isaiah 1:16

¹⁶ Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

When you get saved your sins are washed away. Then you cease to do evil. [a decision] We will still fall in the mud. But will we wallow?

You don’t have to change your life to be saved. But if you get saved, you’ll want to change your life!

God said that people who are called by My name humble themselves and they pray and they seek My face and they turn from their wicked ways.  That turning is repentance, and it bears fruit.

Ezekiel 33:19

¹⁹ But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.

True repenters will have a spiritual transformation.

Ezekiel 36:25-27

²⁵ Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness... ²⁶ A new heart also will I give you… ²⁷ And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

That's right.  When God is doing the work, there's a spiritual transformation.

v. 9          If He looks at your tree and there aren't any elements of fruit on the tree, then the ax will do its job and the tree is going to be thrown into the fire of hell and eternal judgment. 

There has to be indication of a change of mind toward sin and a love of righteousness that shows up in a changed behavior. 

Ephesians 2:8-10

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Hopefully many in the crowd were getting the seriousness of the message. But they had some questions.

vv. 10-11         Is this really the fruit of righteousness?  Sure, because the first great commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, but the second great commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.  He's saying just what Jesus said to His disciples in John 13, All men will know that you're My disciples if you have love for one another.  How do you show that love?  You wash each other's feet.  You share a garment with each other.  You provide food for each other.  In fact, in 1 John 3 he says if you see your brother have need and you don't meet it, how does the love of God dwell in you?  And if the love of God doesn't dwell in you, then we might assume you're not one of God's children.

James writes that pure religion is to take care of widows and orphans, right? 

Then another group who were tax gatherers walked up. 

v. 12        They were the most hated people in the country because they were Jews who were collecting taxes for Romans. They must have felt some guilt so they said, "What do we do?”  John’s preaching must have made them feel guilty, and if they wanted to repent and get ready for Messiah, they wondered would there be a way for them?

v. 13        That's a 180-degree move for the tax collectors.  Just take what you're supposed to take, that's all, don't take any more.

So, love is one manifestation of a transformed life.  Another one is honesty. 

Then there's a third group here, soldiers. 

v. 14        Those are the three most obvious ways that they can pervert their authority.

Don't abuse people physically. Some did it for sport, but history shows that more often it was about money. They would shake people down.  They had authority.  They had power. They had weapons and they would take whatever they wanted.

When I led missions trips into Central America there were thugs that would set up barricades across the roads and charge tolls. I asked how much. They asked, how much do you have? I said, I have $13. They said, that’s the toll. That's a shakedown. Iran is attempting the same in the Strait.

Now the second thing he says to the soldiers is, "Don't accuse anyone falsely."  Justice is truth, and truth sets you free. When you really repent, you turn away from falsity and cling to truth.

And the third thing he says, "Be content with your wages."  It's the discontent over wages that turns policemen into criminals.  If they were content with their wages, they wouldn't be running some kind of scam in the police department and stealing drugs, or selling drugs or using their power and their position to corrupt, right?

Saved people will live a life of love and honesty. This is contrary to how unforgiven, untransformed, unregenerate people act.

I think about Zaccheus. Remember, when he was converted.  Immediately he returned to everybody four-fold what he had stolen.  We’ve got enough shallow Christians. We need some real repentance that produces.

A word of caution: There are many good moral people who aren’t saved. So just because you do good doesn’t indicate salvation. Saved people aren’t just good…they’re forgiven…and then that new found salvation will change them, not just into good people, but Godly people.

So if there is true repentance there is going to be a deep and honest evaluation of one's sinfulness.  There is going to be a recognition of divine wrath.  There is going to be a rejection of any religious ritual, whatever that ritual might be as a means of salvation.  And there is going to be a renunciation of any confidence of salvation in family ancestry or heritage. And there is going to be in a true repentance the revelation of a real transformation that shows up in an unselfish act of love, or an unselfish life of love toward others.

Now all of that is true, but it's one step short of what is necessary.

True repenters receive the Messiah

And now we turn from the first five things that are looking at sin and we turn to the only One who can save: Jesus.  And let's look at vv. 15-16.

John is not the Christ, because the Christ can do things that John cannot do.  John can baptize with water. So can I.  And so could you.  But John cannot baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.  That is supernatural. 

John 3:30

³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease. [That was John the Baptist speaking]

“I'm not even worthy to untie His sandals.”  That was the lowliest of duties.  In fact it was said by some that it was such a dirty thing to do that it should only be done by a Gentile.  “I'm not even worthy to do that.” 

John is saying I can't save you, nor can I damn you.  I can't give you the Holy Spirit, nor can I send you to heaven or hell. That's way beyond me.  We have now catapulted out of the human realm and we're into the realm of God.  For anybody to imagine they could compare to Jesus, well, they have arrived at a level of lunacy and blasphemy beyond which one cannot go. I don’t care if you’re the President. Don’t go there.

We are criticized as being narrow-minded. Well, truth is narrow. Error is broad, however.

Acts 4:12

¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Do the math. For any equation, there’s only one right answer. But how many wrong answers may there be?

John 14:6

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Do you believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God? [say amen]

Do you believe your sins must be paid for?

Do you believe Jesus paid for your sins so you wouldn’t have to face the wrath of God in hell forever?

Do you turn from trying to make your own way to heaven by good works or riding your parent’s coattails?

Do you repent of sin, intent on letting God change you?

If so, you have prepared a way for the Lord. The soil of your heart is ready. You can claim Romans 10:13.

Romans 10:13

¹³ For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.