I. John the Baptist Preaches Repentance
- In Matthew 3:1-12, John the Baptist suddenly appeared in the scriptures. Before we start, let us examine who he is. John the Baptist is the son of Elizabeth and Zachariah, a priest. Elizabeth is a close relative of Mary which makes John a cousin of Jesus. His birth was also miraculous not because Elizabeth was a virgin, but because of her very old age. This was used by God as a sign to Mary because Elizabeth's pregnancy was impossible but 37 For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1-37).
John was given a mission by God: to prepare the way of the One who will follow and establish an eternal kingdom that would stand for ever, which of course is Jesus Christ (John 1:23). He had a message of repentance for the Kingdom of God is near. It is the repentance for lying, cheating, stealing, gossiping, revenge, abuse, pride, boasting, and sexual immorality. Repentance is not just to be sorry for the things that you have done and then continue in same old ways, but it is a total transformation, a U-turn. It is not just emotional outpouring of heart, but it is a sincere active commitment and change of mind. People who repented were baptized by him in the Jordan of River.
After reading this, we should ask ourselves what the true meaning of water baptism is. There are other religions that have babies baptized but to be baptized is to know and accept Jesus Christ as our savior. This is one of the human traditions that is not scriptural for it is written in the Holy Bible that there are steps that one must accomplish to be baptized:
1. Before baptism, one must hear, understand, and believe the Gospel
a. Mark 16:16- 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
b.Acts 2: 41- 41 Then those who gladly[a] received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
2. Before baptism, one must repent
a. Acts 2: 38- 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
3. Before baptism, one must confess Christ
a. Romans 10:9-10- 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
b. Acts 8:35-39 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”[a] 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
Instead of baptizing babies who do not know the Gospel and believe in Christ, we should dedicate their life to the Lord instead. The great thing about God is that he gives us our own free will. It is our personal choice if we want to repent, accept the Lord and follow His ways. We are not believers because of our families, friends, or anyone else. Let us study the word, believe in the savior, repent our sins, confess our faith to Christ, then be baptized in water and the Holy Spirit.
II. God's Judgment on Sin
- Romans 2:1-16 talks about God's judgment on human will come in due time. Until then, it is not our place, as fellow human beings, to judge others in God's place. Many might think that these verses talk about God's blessing and that if the good things that you did in this world outweighs all the bad things, then you will go to heaven. Good works by itself won't get you to God's Kingdom:
8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast". (Ephesians 2:8-9).
5 "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit," (Titus 3:5).
Romans 2:1-16 actually talks about his judgment. God's judgment is about truth and is just and unbiased. Everyone is held accountable and you can't say that you didn't know or learned the "Word" for the gospel is out there. Just by having the internet, people have access to thousands of Bible sites. It is your choice if you read and accept the Bible and live the life that God has commanded us. Not knowing will not be an excuse to God specially to those who condemn people who sin yet he does the exact same thing, hypocrites. It is not enough that you read and know verse by verse of the Bible, go to church, and call yourself Christians, you NEED to act like a Christian. In Romans 2:7-8, it reads:
"To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger".
All we need is to repent our sin, honor God and his covenant, accept that Jesus is our savior, and be born again of the water and spirit (John 3:5-7). I'll end this study with a verse which is one of the first verses we had to memorize in our bible studies:
11 And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. - 1 John 5:11-12
III. Proverbs for Today/1:24-28
24 Because I have called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
25 Because you disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes,
27 When your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28 “ Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
IV. Old Testament Reading:
Genesis 11-12, Genesis 13:1-4, and Psalm 5:1-12
Prayer: Father God, we want to thank you again for this opportunity to learn your word, your gospel, and your good news. We want to thank you for using this blog to reach people so we can fill their hearts with your word and may you open our hearts so that the holy spirit can live among us and guide as to live a Christian life. Father, we ask for your forgiveness for we are reminded in Romans 3:23 that we all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Father God, we thank you again and we ask you to shower us with your blessings and grace, in Jesus' name. Amen
