The Urgency Of Repenting Today

The men who bring God’s Word have a difficult job. It’s not the years of study before entering the ministry. It’s not the many hours spent writing sermons. It’s not even getting over the fear of public speaking. Bringing God’s Word is difficult because of what that Word means. It’s a serious Word. It’s a Word of great consequence. A minister has the privilege of bringing Christ’s Word of salvation—but that very same message is also a word of judgment.

In the Bible, those two always go together: salvation and judgment. Because if I tell you today that eternal salvation is available through faith in Jesus Christ, then the opposite is also true: those who don’t believe, miss out on this gift, and they fall under God’s fearful wrath.

Even if we don’t say it explicitly every Sunday, that’s always the implication. Not accepting this gospel means there’s no life or redemption—there’s only death and condemnation. For if the text has been read clearly, if the text has been explained properly, if Christ crucified has been preached, then the minister’s words must be received for what they actually are: the Word of the living God.

And among many there is the reaction of faith—thanks be to the LORD! But among others, there might be a stubborn rejection and a proud unbelief. Some even choose not to hear the Word on Sunday—and “staying away” is also a kind of reaction to God’s Word.

Yes, that makes it hard. But in the end, one who brings the Word knows it’s not his own Word. It’s God’s Word. And that also means that God will take care of the results. Through the faithful preaching of the Word, God will work all the change that’s needed.

These are the same truths that John the Baptist held onto as he brought God’s Word, so long ago. Also for him, as a “minister,” it wasn’t easy. He preached Christ to all those who would listen, urgently calling them to repentance and faith. But even as he did, he saw some who turned away. And he knew that some others didn’t care. But this was God’s Word—a word of salvation and judgment—so he would continue to bring it boldly. That’s our theme,

John preaches: “Repent, for Christ is on his way!”

1) the urgency of the time

2) the complacency of the people

3) the results of this repenting

1) the urgency of the time: Something big is about to happen in the gospel of Luke. How do we know? We know it from the way he begins chapter 3. He tells us that it was the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, that Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, that Annas and Caiaphas were high priests in Jerusalem, and so forth. Luke the historian is signaling to us that we’ve made another jump on the timeline: from when Jesus was twelve, to when John the Baptist begins his ministry—somewhere between AD 27 and 29.

Something big is about to happen, and happen it does in verse 2, “The word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” This is exactly the language used to describe the ministry of the Old Testament prophets: “The word of God came…” And when the word of God comes, those who are its messengers have no choice but to speak.

So it was that John went into the region of the Jordan, “preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (v 3). Now, when we hear “baptism,” we might picture a nice baptismal font, an infant presented by her parents, and that solemn ceremony of sprinkled water. We’re very used to the idea of baptism. But for John to come baptizing was new and shocking.

To be sure, the Jews knew about ceremonial washings; that was part of being cleansed from impurity. There were also sectarian groups who practiced a ritual something like baptism. And if there were Gentiles at this time who wanted to join the people of God, but didn’t want to be circumcised, they’d be “baptized.”

But while people had heard of various forms of “baptism,” John’s ministry and message were very different. For he stood on the banks of the Jordan River, and called on everyone to come down into those waters. Baptism was for all, for everyone who saw the need to change their ways!

The Word of God came to John in the wilderness, and he declared that now is the time for repentance. Now—and not later—is the time to begin a different way of life. And what makes this call so urgent? It was this one, undeniable fact: the promised Messiah is on his way. He was coming, and was going to deal with human transgression. He was going to take away God’s punishment, and make possible a new relationship with the LORD.