John the Baptist – Luke 3:1-20
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. – Luke 3:8a
When Luke introduces John the Baptist to us, we meet a prophet who boldly speaks the truth without fear of offending anyone. Calling your audience a “brood of vipers” is not exactly at the top of the list of ways to “win friends & influence people.”
What John identifies is the tendency of people to be sorry that they got caught. These people are putting on a show of being sorry while still acting the same way. They are hoping to escape God’s wrath without actually changing their behavior. John calls them to begin doing the right thing… to prove that they’re truly sorry by producing fruit in keeping with repentance.
If confession is “telling the truth about our situation,” then repentance is to “stop doing the wrong thing that we were sorry for.” True repentance requires transformation – a U-turn. It’s only then that we might begin to experience reconciliation with God or with other people.
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.