Based on Luke 3:1-14 (New King James Version)
“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’’ Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ So the people asked him, saying, ‘What shall we do then?’ He answered and said to them, ‘He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.’ Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than what is appointed for you.’ Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, ‘And what shall we do?’ So he said to them, ‘Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.’”
There are many that think that salvation can only attained by just believing in Christ, and that’s it. From a certain point of view, of course. Faith in the Lord is what saves us through His own grace. There is no way to God, except only through the Lord. Nonetheless, there is something crucial that must happen before surrendering to the Lord, before He can effectively come into the heart and live within a person through the Holy Spirit. If we see clearly what God Himself established, it’s impossible to come to be saved without complete repentance and conversion from sins, and also, if there isn’t a progressing in that continual repentance and conversion from sins. Quite simply, there is no salvation without that initial repentance and conversion, and the continual process of change and transformation through repentance and conversion. Many people do not come to experience the Lord’s salvation because this is not fulfilled initially, nor is there an abiding in that continual change.
As a start, John the Baptist’s ministry was precisely about that, of preparing the Lord’s way. This is what makes John the Baptist’s ministry so important. The Lord Himself said that there was no greater prophet than John the Baptist. Why? Because God Himself through John establishes the beginning of the way to salvation, and also the continuing of it. In today’s passage, we saw that John’s message was precisely about repentance and conversion, that there must be a change of life in people, a turning away from sin. This is what prepares the way of the Lord, so that He can come into a person’s heart, when they surrender completely to Him. The Holy Spirit cannot come into a heart that is full of sin, where death still reigns, because that is reality when there is no turning away from sin. If John would not have prepared the way for the Lord before His public ministry, nothing would have happened. Incredibly enough, the Son of God’s ministry would have been barren, and we wouldn’t have salvation.
We see that this repentance and conversion is something that continues to be in effect as a principle to escape condemnation. And this must be left clear because many people think that there were things written in the Bible that supposedly don’t apply anymore. Let’s see the following: “Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’” John 8:2-11. So here towards the end, we see a great detail. Neither the religious were able to condemn the woman before the Lord, nor the Lord Himself condemned her, the One that could have condemned her. But what did the Lord say? “…go and sin no more.” It’s God Himself saying: “I forgive you. I give you a new beginning, but change, leave behind your sin, repent, convert from your evil ways. Don’t do it anymore.”
So then, this new beginning that God gives cannot be abused. God does not give forgiveness so that a person can persist in sin. When a person repents and converts from their sins, to ask the Lord to come into their life, the process of repentance and conversion must proceed. A person cannot continue falling time and time again in what is evil. The Word explains the following: “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’” 2 Peter 2:20-22. The Word urges us to continue changing, to look for Him to continue that process of transformation. It’s an ongoing work that the Holy Spirit continues in us while we abide in that decision. God does not force anyone, even when a person has surrendered their life to Him. Free will never ends because our relationship with Him is based on love. This is what the Word says with regards to how to attain Christ’s salvation: “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.” Revelation 22:14-15. In other language translations, it says, “washes their robes” in the place where it says, “those who do His commandments.” Any way you look at it, to be able to have the right to the tree of life, and to be able to enter through the gates, there must be an initial conversion and a continuing conversion, and not continuing to fall back into those things that produce death, for the wages of sin is death. We are not perfect, nor will we be perfect while in the flesh, but there must be progress in sanctification. So then, are you on the way to eternal salvation, or do you continue practicing sin? Lord bless! John