Preparing The Way For The Lord

Scripture Text: Luke 3:1-18

The Lord chose John to prepare the way for the introduction and ministry of Jesus and there's a lot that we can learn from John the Baptist's ministry that pertains to the Church and the work of the Church.

John was chosen by God to prepare the way for the First Advent of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to establish the Church as the representation of His own ministry to the world. And the Church is called to prepare the world for the Second Advent of Jesus.

That's New Testament theology reduced to its least common denominator and all of us would do well to keep it as our focus lest we get side tracked into ways of living that lead us away from the truth - ways of living that will eventually lead us into eternal separation from Lord.

For our thinking let's consider:

The Faith Message Of The Forerunner,

The Fruit Of The Message Of The Forerunner,

The Finality Of The Message Of The Forerunner.

FIRST, THE FAITH MESSAGE OF THE FORERUNNER.

Verse 6 of our text says,

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

For centuries the children of Israel depended upon the works of the Law as their means for justification and the Israelites were primarily the recipients of the grace and blessings of God. Justification was a legalistic and judicial thing under the Old Covenant and John begins to introduce the concept of justification by faith in the one who was coming after him.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 5:1-2,

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Paul also tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9,

For by grace you have been saved through faith , and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

And, regardless of what men may say contrary to the revealed truth of God that we find penned on the pages of the Bible, concerning salvation from sin and justification because of sin, Acts 4:12 will continue to stand as an eternal declaration proclaiming,

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

And Hebrews 2:3,

How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

will stand as the eternal question that will be an eternal rejoicing for the saints in heaven or the eternal annoyance of those lost in torment.

SECOND, THE FRUIT OF THE MESSAGE OF THE FORERUNNER.

Mark 1:4 says,

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

What happened when people started hearing the faith message that John was preaching? What happened when the people were confronted with the reality that the Righteous Judge was about to come on the scene? What happened when John began to communicate to the people that unrighteous behavior would be met with grave consequences?

What happened in them is what happens in all of us who hear and believe the truth of the Gospel when we are confronted with it. Their hearts began to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit and they started asking "What shall we do?" What shall we do with the truth now that it is real to us?

There are only two ways to respond to the truth when it becomes real to us. One is rebellion. The other is repentance. And the fruit of the message of John was that people began to repent.

Bearing fruit worthy of repentance reaches in two directions. It reaches toward God and it reaches toward those around us. The fruit of the message of the Gospel is a life that's lived in a right relationship with God and with those around us. True repentance always brings about a change in our lives that moves us closer to God and aligns us in fellowship with His will for our lives.

Jesus summed up the whole Law and Prophets is just a few words when He told the scribes and pharisees of His day in Matthew 22:37-40 saying,

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

THIRD, THE FINALITY OF THE MESSAGE OF THE FORERUNNER.

Speaking of Jesus in Luke 3:17 John said,

His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.

John separated people into two categories. One he labeled wheat. The other chaff. One is gathered and saved. The other is burned with fire. That's not a lot of options to choose from. Grains of wheat are filled with life but chaff has no life in it. Wheat is alive. Chaff is dead.

Ephesians 2:1-7 says of the wheat, of those who believe in and receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their lives,

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

This is why we do what we do. This is what motivates us to keep holding onto the promises of God. This is the reason saints of all ages have remained committed to the course and made whatever sacrifice necessary to enable the church to keep the lanterns lit and the welcome signs out. And this is why we are here today sharing together by recalling the birth of Jesus.

Jesus came to bring and to give life, abundant and eternal life, to those who would simply recognize their need for a Savior to save them from sin and to restore them to a right relationship with God. He's been here once to bring salvation to a world lost in sin and He's coming again to judge the world because of sin. The Lord chose John to prepare the way for the First Advent of Jesus. And now He's chosen the Church, He's chosen us and given us the responsibility of preparing the way for His Second Advent when the record books of heaven will be opened and every person who has ever lived will be rewarded according to what's been recorded in the books.

Copyright - Dave Kralik.

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