(John 1:28)
�These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.�
We have, in the past few weeks, looked at several verses where the religious leaders of the day were questioning John about his ministry. They were questioning John because they saw something in his ministry which was lacking in their own. They witnessed the power of God in action, blessing the ministry of John when John preached and baptized..
They just weren�t sure what the attraction was of the ministry of John. Could it be that they were so immersed in their religiosity that they were unfamiliar with the movement of the Spirit of God upon the life and work of His servant?
There are many religions active in the world today. Some are growing. Some are not. Those which are growing are powered by a firm belief in a �Higher Power� from the spiritual realms which gives them confidence, meaning, and purpose.
Generally speaking, those which are not growing, even losing numbers, are those which have a philosophy rather than a faith. They �believe� in something; don�t misunderstand. But, their belief is seated in a philosophy of life, a culturally based motivation for action, and a disbelief in either the existence or the active influence of any Deity. These include both secular and religiously based systems of faith and civilization.
Now, I wouldn�t ascribe any evil to these latter systems. They are good and proper as social clubs and organizations. They often do much good in the world about them. Many of them will even inspire their adherents to adopt a missionary zeal to spread the doctrines of their groups.
But, in the light of eternity, what have they really done?
When I was a child, over forty years ago, a friend of mine was murdered. His funeral was held in our church. Most of the students from the high school we attended came out to pay respect to him. Many stopped by his casket and said, �Good-bye.� Let�s be honest; for many that was all that they could say. But, when I, and many others, went past his lifeless body, we said, �Good-bye. See you later.�
That is an important difference. That is just one of the differences between a �faith based� and a �culture based� belief system. We of the faith system understand that this world is not all there is. There is a reality that a spiritual system is also in existence. Death isn�t an ending; it is a beginning of a new life. The culturally based systems can never understand this fact because they fail to take this possibility into their world and life view.
John understood the fact of the spiritual.
But, this also must give us pause when we consider faith based systems. Are they of God, or are they of another spiritual entity.
Jesus gave this warning to his followers:
�Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.� (Matthew 7:21-23)
Supposed religious works are not the mark of the Christian life. We need to have a relationship with Jesus. To the saved, those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, Jesus will not say, �I never knew you.�
This passage does point out, however, that all religious people are not those who have had that relationship with the God of Eternity. The Apostle Paul warned us that, �...for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.� (II Corinthians 11:14) The context of this verse shows us that Paul is not saying that Satan becomes an angel of light; the meaning is that Satan will appear to be an angel of light.
There are false prophets. There are false teachings. And, yes, there are false religions. Any religious system, even a faith based system, which teaches any message at variance with the gospel that Jesus Christ died in time so that we might live in eternity, is a false message. The Apostle John made it quite clear, �He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.� (I John 5:12)
It isn�t that Christianity is a �narrow� religion, or that God is bigoted. The truth of the matter is that God has provided, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary, a means of redemption for mankind. To refuse that gift is to refuse the Giver of that Gift.
We must remember that God is the Spirit of Truth. In all the vast cosmos of this universe only God can rightfully accept worship. Satan attempts to divert that rightful worship to himself. He is able to do so because of the sin nature which lies within man. This is the spirit which energizes any religion except that of God, through Jesus Christ.
I realize that this a hard and exclusionary concept to grasp. But, it is the Truth as revealed in the Bible.
Of the actions of John, notice the power of those actions. �These things were done...�
About the only place where anyone can get anything affirmative done without movement is on the basketball court by setting a �screen.� Even then, the player had to move first so he could be in position to set the screen.
The power of the action of the ministry of John lay, as least humanly speaking, in the fact that things were done for the cause of God�s message. John was not a prophet because he was anything special. John was a prophet because he proclaimed the message of God.
His was an opinionated faith.
John preached a coming Messiah. He preached the need to prepare for His coming. He didn�t just say, �Get ready. Something good is going to happen.� He said, �Prepare ye the way of the Lord.�
The same should be true in our own lives. There are many good things we can say to men. We can talk of the morality of the Christian message. We should speak of this. But, we need to consider that this morality will never take a single soul through the portals of the Heavenly door.
Morality is good, necessary; but, it is not salvation.
We could preach all day about the prophecies of the Bible. They are true. They are testaments to the truth of the message contained therein. We do need to consider them. But, a person can have a complete understanding of the prophecies of things to come and yet die in his sins and go to a Christless grave.
Knowledge of the Word of God is necessary and important. But, mere knowledge is not salvation.
We can consider the secular political scene. We could thunder forth our opinions of mans relationship with his fellow man. But, when another century of years has passed, who cares about how well Joe down the street treated his neighbor. What is important is where Joe has gone to spend his eternity.
A famous baseball manager once said, �Nice guys finish last.� He may have been, far too often, right. Thankfully, he is often proved wrong. That really isn�t of eternal importance. What is of eternal importance is the fact that �nice� guys are not guaranteed an eternal home in Heaven.
What is of eternal importance is the fact that Jesus Christ died in time so that we might live in eternity. We have a need to preach the Truth that Jesus is the only means of salvation! The preaching of that message should be our purpose. Other things may be good as companions to this message. But, we must preach this message.
The power of the message of John was that it implied an operative faith.
When I was younger, playing baseball, I was one of those contact hitters with little power. But, I could hit the ball nearly where I wanted to do so. I often said that, �Just pick a blade of grass for me to hit. Be sure to tell me which side of the blade you want the ball to touch.� Now, that was a boast. Worse, it was a boast that I could never have backed up. I wasn�t anywhere near that good. I don�t think anyone is. But, I know I was never that proficient!
We can say anything. That doesn�t mean that we say the truth.
Likewise, we can believe anything. That doesn�t make it so. We�ve all heard the stories about the little children who have watched the �Superman� movies. Those children have tied towels around their necks, like capes, and broken their arms jumping off house tops in the belief that they could fly just like Superman.
Their belief did not take them soaring through the skies.
Neither will our belief take us to Heaven unless that belief is centered in the truth of the message of the Bible. It is not our religious acts, our trust in church dogma, or even our faith in the words of a preacher which will take us to an eternal home in Heaven. The only thing that can save our souls is a trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
We have to accept the message of Scripture rather than our own opinions, hopes, or schemes.
The power of the actions of John lay in the energizing power of his faith in the leading of God.
When I was in the army I had to qualify with a .45 handgun. I still have no idea how I did this. I wasn�t a bad shot with this gun. I was a terrible shot. I once said that I could not hit the broad side of a barn with a hand gun - even if I were standing in the middle of the barn! I honestly felt that the only way I could do damage with a .45 was to take out the bullet and throw it at the enemy.
Still, somehow, that little bullet managed to come out of the barrel of that handgun and strike the target paper often enough, and accurately enough, for me to qualify on that weapon.
But, for now, consider that bullet. It had four parts. There was the projectile. This was the �business end� of the weapon. It was what flew out and traveled to the target.
There was the powder. This was the explosive which caused the projectile to fly out of the chamber. Without the projectile the explosive was simply a loud noise. Without the explosive, the projectile was a simple piece of metal laying inside the gun.
Both were necessary.
Neither, however, meant anything until a little piece of detonator went off in the cap of the shell casing. That detonator was what charged the explosive. The shell casing held the projectile in place until it was ready for use.
When it comes to our Christian witness, we are the explosive powder. Without the rest of the necessary parts we are nothing but a loud noise. To be effective we need to be sending forth the projectile of the Word of God.
We need to be energized by the Detonator of the Holy Spirit within our lives.
We, also - first, actually, need to be in the place where we can be of service. We need to be born again, ourselves. We need to be consecrated to His service. We need to understand that we are expendable in His service. We do our work for Him. That is our entire purpose - to fulfill the task which He has given us!
One bullet will not stop a squad of enemy soldiers. But, each bullet, used as intended, and working in concert with the other bullets, will bring a victorious conclusion to the battle.
May we each be dedicated to be those �bullets� in the Loving Hand of the God of Justice.
We also need to consider the place of action for John. �...in Bethabara beyond Jordan...�
First, of course, Bethabara was the location where John was residing when all this took place. It was where he was.
That same location is each of our own personal mission fields. I don�t mean, of course, Bethabara. I mean where we are located. That is our mission field.
Believe it. This makes our missionary endeavors even harder.
I know. That sounds like a strange statement. How can it be harder to stand for Christ, where we are than it would be to remove ourselves thousands of miles. After all, the hardships, the travel, the strange and new culture... These would be factors to make our path harder to walk.
No. I don�t agree with that assessment. I have pastored, for well over twenty years in the town where I grew up. I saw people, every day, who remember when... Well, let�s not consider just when and what!
The people who are hardest to reach with the Gospel message are those who know all of our faults and foibles. �How can you say I need salvation from my sins when you used to...� Am I not right!
But, this is the mission field which God has given us. We can have no other. We are to live as beacons of the redeeming power of the Son of God among those with whom we reside. This is the reason that God has put us, or allowed us to remain, in these locations.
The work of John was also a place to which he was removed. The natural state of a person is sin. It is into this state that we are, each one of us, born. The conversion experience of salvation is just that - conversion.
Linda and I often visited in Canada. It is a beautiful land with wonderful people. We enjoyed these trips. One of the first things we did, each time we visited, was to go to a bank and exchange our U. S. money for Canadian money. That, the Canadian money, was the lawful money of the land which we were visiting. It may have been different from that which we used back home, but it was the only right currency in the visited land.
We could have continued to use our U. S. money when we visited. As a matter of fact, the first few times we entered into Niagara Falls, Ontario, we, unthinkingly, did just that. The people where we shopped were very gracious - probably used to �stupid Americans� doing this - and accepted our �greenbacks.� But, in our doing this we made extra work for those people where we shopped. We made them go to the bank, in effect, for us!
Bad thing for us to do!
It is the same way, in a sense, in our spiritual lives. We are given a new nature when we become Christians. Our lives have been converted at the First Bank of Heaven�s Grace. But, we, all to often, are just too lazy to access the riches of His glory. We fail to read the Word, and talk in prayer with Him. We live as does the world.
I am sure, although no one ever sought to correct me, that my using U. S. currency in Canada, gave a bad impression of the American tourists. It made us all look lazy and impolite. But, it wasn�t all the American tourists. It was me!
How much does our life reflect upon the grace of Christ? Does it reflect in such a way as to repel, or to entice, another to enter into the Christian experience.
As Christians we need to remove ourselves to a place of subjection to the Lord of Glory. We need to remove ourselves to a place of piety so that our very lives can be an advertisement for the Christian life.
The Children of Israel were just that, the Children of Israel, even when they were in Egypt as slaves. They didn�t become a nation when they entered into the Promised Land. They already were a nation. They just didn�t display the outward sign of that reality.
May we learn, and yearn, to give the outward display of the inward reality that we have been with Christ.
Also, the place of the actions of John was a place of redemption. John called people to repentance. More importantly, he called them to recognize that the Lord was coming into the land.
That ought to also be the underlying reason for our lives and witness. We wish to see others receive the redemption offered in Jesus Christ. There is more to that in our witness as Christians. But, without redemption, there is nothing else of importance.
True Christianity is not a blimp soaring above the landscape with philosophical thoughts and value which serve to cast shadows to shield those below from the harsh sun of midday. True Christianity is more like a kite. There is a string of faith that tethers us to the solid ground of the Savior�s Love. Our purpose is to draw the eyes of mankind to our flight of faith.
A kite which has been separated from its string will crash to the ground. It is not capable of any sort of rational flight. A religion which is not tethered to the faith which is in Christ, Jesus, is like that. It has no purpose. It has no rational for existence. It will crash and fail.
The redemption which is available only through Jesus Christ is our rational for existence as a people of God.
Notice, finally, the pardon of the actions of John. �...where John was baptizing.�
We should realize that the listeners of John had a community of fellowship.
This wasn�t a community of geography. After all, many of the people came from great distances to hear the preaching of John. They were drawn by his obvious sincerity. They were drawn by his mighty preaching. But, most importantly, they were drawn by the convicting power of the Spirit of God.
As John was faithful to his Lord, God blessed the ministry which was John�s given task.
The community was based in the Word of the Lord. So, also, is the community of the churches of Jesus in this day. Our commitment, if we are truly His churches, is to the Word which we hold in our hands as we peruse the Scripture.
Our fellowship is not based on the local political scene. Our fellowship is not based on the local economic picture. Our fellowship is not based, even, on our relationship with those of our local assembly. Our fellowship is in our fidelity to the Word of God, preached to men and women.
That is why a Christian should never feel a stranger when he enters the house of God. He is a member of the family.
The fellowship was also based in the water of baptism. All of those who followed the preaching of John had submitted themselves to the ordinance of baptism.
So, also, should we follow the Lord�s example in this area. This does not seal our salvation. It is merely a symbol, before the Lord, the local assembly, and the world at large, that we have met the Master. It is an act of obedience by the Christian rather than an act of sacrament for the seeker.
There is no work which we can accomplish, including baptism, which can wash away our sins. Jesus has already completed the only possible, only effective, and only required work. Our trust in Him, and what He has already done, is the only entrance into the body of Christ.
That is why the fellowship, even of the followers of John, was based upon a relationship to the Wonderful Lord. John preached, �He�s coming. Follow Him.� We preach, �He died for your sins. Follow Him.�
The fellowship does not owe its fidelity to a preacher. The fidelity is owed only to the Lord Who died on the cross.
The followers of John were also condescending to follow the Messiah Who was to come. This condescending was that they were willing to subject their own sinful wills to the leading of the Lord of Glory.
Thus, they were willing to follow in subjection to the leading of God. The baptism of John was a sign before men that these people baptized were acknowledging themselves as sinners in need of reformation.
Our pride may allow us to say that we will follow God. But, can we allow our prideful selves to say that this is not something we deserve? I think that is one of the reasons why it is so hard for some people to understand the simple fact that salvation comes by trust in Another�s work. We want to earn salvation. �Look, God, I�m willing to do this if only You�ll accept me.� God has accepted His Son as the total cost of your salvation. Don�t tell God that you have something better to offer. Just accept Jesus!
The people were also willing to follow in service. It is one thing to be willing to accept Jesus as Savior, why is it so hard to accept Him as Sovereign? He is the Lord of the Christian life. We owe Him our fidelity. We owe Him our allegiance. We owe Him our service.
What God has called you to do, that you need to do. Don�t feel it a task which is too hard. He wouldn�t have called you if He were not going to be at your side assisting, and giving power for the task. Neither, and I think this is the more often felt complaint, should you feel that the task is too small. Remember, it is God�s power, not our might, which alone is able to withstand the attacks of the tempter.
It seems that everyone wants to be a preacher when they are first saved. Well, maybe God wants you to work in a bakery. Maybe God wants you to deliver pizza. Maybe your personal mission field lies in doing your job as a Christian. Don�t argue with God. Do His will.
I didn�t really want to go to war in Viet Nam. The army had ideas other than my own for me; so I went. After getting there I didn�t want to go out on recon patrols. The army had ideas other than my own for me; so I went.
We are not the commanding general of God�s Army, either. Whatever the plan of God for your life, go.
The people also followed John in The Spirit. John gave the example of following the will of God. He lived this before the people who heard him preach. He imparted, through his preaching, this ideal to his listeners.
So should we follow the example of John. Not our will, but the Will of Him Who sends us, should be our desire.
Most importantly, the actions of John brought a commitment of faith to the crowds who heard him preach.
The faith was in the preaching of John because John never wavered from preaching the message of God. The thoughts of John may have been sublime. But the teaching of God was salvation. The thoughts of John may have bordered on genius. But, the teaching of God was guaranteed by the Creator of the Universe. The thoughts of John may have been religiously superior. But, the teaching of God led to righteous sanctification in that they set the sin ravaged souls free.
Through his baptism of repentance, John led people to commit to more than just living. He taught them that there was a better way to live. They did not have to slovenly follow sin. They would rise above the brute nature and become more than they were. They didn�t have to be bogged down in sin. They didn�t have to be in subjection to a sin nature. The Savior was coming. �Look to Him!
That was the secret of the success of John. He led people to faith in the salvation of Jesus.
That should also, and always, be the point of our preaching. That should also, and always, be the only power we preach. That, Jesus, is the only power that can save your soul. Have you accepted Him as your Savior?
Why not accept Him right now!