sincerity and so they came to John ask ing, “ What shall we do?” The answers John gave are very practical. They are to the effect that true repentance will show itself in changed conduct. True repentance is a right-about-face in rela tion to sin and God. It turns away from sin and takes an active interest in the things of God. True repentance will not be satisfied with wearing two coats when a shivering neighbor has none; nor can it be satisfied to grow fat with food while the family across the street grows thin from want (v. 11). Neither will true repentance allow extortion of any kind to be a part of one’s life as was so often the case with the publicans (vv. 12, 13). Moreover, true repentance cannot be given to violence, pride, lack of compas sion, injustice. It seeks only the best interest of those who are served (v. 14). True repentance means a definite im provement in living. If that is not pres ent there is a fatal lack. John’s Testimony vv. 15-17 The people began to wonder if John, the great prophet and preacher, was not the Christ. He quickly sensed the situa tion and came forth with the clear testi mony to the fact that Christ was yet to come. He would be so much greater than he (John) was that there would be no basis for comparison. John only baptized with water. Christ would bap tize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. It is probable that we have here what happens to the two classes of people in the world, believers and unbelievers. Be lievers are baptized with the Holy Spirit; unbelievers shall be baptized with the fire o f judgment. John’s Persecution vv. 18-20 Because John dared to speak about the definite sin that was in Herod’s life, he was sent to prison and later became a martyr for Christ’s sake. Truly, John was a great man. He was true to his convictions. John, the cousin of the Lord Jesus Christ, had lived alone in the desert places for many years. His clothing had been made from camel’s hair, and his food had consisted of locusts and wild honey. While John was in the wil derness, the Word of God came to him, telling him to preach repentance to the people o f his land. Multitudes came to hear him preach near the Jordan River. His preaching had been prophesied in the Old Testament, for he was sent to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. John told the multi tudes that they must show by their lives of usefulness and unselfishness that they wanted to repent and to be bap- T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S Helps for the Children John Preaches God’s Message Luke 3:1-16 Memory Verse: “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deut. 6:5).
stand the Word of the Lord as Ezra read it to them. When the people wept at the reading of God’s law, Nehemiah and Ezra told them rather to rejoice and prepare a great feast and send por tions of it to the poor, for this was an holy day unto the Lord their God. The second day as the people met to hear the Word of the Lord, they read in it about a feast of tabernacles that their fathers had observed in obedience to God’s command. Quickly they gathered tree branches and made themselves booths or little dwellings upon their roof tops, in their yards, near the house of God, and in the streets. Since the day o f Joshua the Israelites had not obeyed this part of God’s law. There was great gladness in their land and in their hearts that day when they Completely obeyed the commandment of the Lord their God. Each day for seven days Ezra read to the joyful Israelites the Word of the Lord. On the eighth day God’s people held a solemn assembly. As the Israelites rejoiced when they understood the Word o f God, so indi viduals today rejoice when the Holy Spirit reveals the truths of God’s Word to them. Pray that you will be as eager to obey God’s Word when you under stand it as were the Israelites of long ago. John the Baptist was the advance man for the Lord Jesus Christ. His busi ness was to get men ready for the com ing of the Saviour. Soon he would be saying, “ Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), but before this he was expected to bring men and women to an attitude of heart so that they would be ready to receive Him when He came. His was a ministry of repentance. John’s Boldness vv. 7-9 John calls the multitude which came to him to be baptized a “ generation of vipers” . He tells them of “ wrath to come” . Moreover, he tells them that, it means nothing to trust one’s forebears for salvation even though they be as illustrious as Abraham. He speaks about the axe of judgment which will surely deal with all unreality. John saw the hypocrisy of much of the profession rep resented before him. He dared to thun der out against it. Plain speaking teach ers and ministers are needed today who are not afraid to declare the truth of God with respect to sin and its conse quences. John did not believe in soft- pedaling these matters. John’s Answers vv. 10-14 Evidently some o f those who were sincerely repentant of their sin wanted to know how they could manifest their August 20, 1950 JOHN, PREACHER OF REPENTANCE Luke 3:7-20 Pointers on the Lesson
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